Uzumaki Naruto: The Power of Darkness
by tgobg
Summary: No memory of his past. Born with unusual gifts, he searches for answers to the many questions that plague him. Will he find the answers he seeks or will the darkness in him destroy him before he does? Naruto AU /Bleach/KH2
1. Chapter 1

Darkness, wherever he looked there was ever lasting darkness and nothing else

Darkness, wherever he looked there was ever lasting darkness and nothing else. He couldn't even see his hands or anything else because of the darkness that surrounded him. It was strange, as he had no memory of how he got here. Not only that, but he couldn't remember anything else as well including any of his past. The only thing he could remember was that his name. Any further thoughts were interrupted when something wet hit him and light started to enter his vision.

"Good to see you are dead there kid, you had us all worried," smiled an elderly woman as she watched the boy slowly sit up.

"What happened to the darkness?" coughed the boy as his beautiful sky blues eyes squinted at so much light flooding his vision.

"Huh? What did you say there boy? You'll have to speak up as my hearing isn't as good as it used to be," yelled the old lady, causing the boy to wince at the increased volume.

"Where am I?" asked the boy while standing up and looking at himself. The last thing he remembered was being surrounded by everlasting darkness, but now it seemed he was in a completely different place.

"Poor thing, it must be horrible dying so young. Come with me to my small home over there and I will explain everything to you," smiled the old woman, as she started to walk over to a small cot in the distance.

The boy couldn't think of any reason not to follow her so calmly walked after her to the small cot. He took this time to study his surroundings and noticed that he was an isolated place as there were forests on all sides surrounding them while a small streamed ran through the area. How did he get here and why was he here? These were just a few of the many questions that ran through his mind as he entered the small, yet cozy cot.

"Just take a seat child, I will go get us some tea," smiled the old woman before heading towards the kitchen.

The boy didn't need to be told twice and took a seat at the only table in the room while waiting for the old woman to return. He didn't have to wait long before she came out with a small tray with two cups and a pot of tea.

"Here you go lad, this will perk you right up as it is home made," chuckled the old woman as she poured them both a cup.

"Thank you," said the boy as he looked at the liquid with a blank expression. He looked up to see the woman drink some of the strange liquid and decided to follow her example. It tasted strange, but it wasn't a bad. The only problem was that he felt nothing as he drank the liquid, absolutely nothing at all. His thirst wasn't quenched and it seemed to just disappeared before reaching his stomach.

"Now child, you wish to know where you are and since you are a new spirit from the looks of things, I will explain a few things to you, but first. Could you please tell me your name?" smiled the old woman as she poured herself another cup of tea.

"My name," repeated the boy slowly. The old woman just smiled and nodded her head in encouragement.

"My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto," said the boy.

**Break**

Rukongai consisted of eighty different residential districts and was home to millions of souls. Depending on what district you were in, determined how good or life would be for that person. The closer to Soul society, or the lower the district number, the quality of life was usually better because there was more order enforced in the districts close to Soul Society. The higher the number of the district, the less order there was to the point where no laws or anything was enforced at all.

Soul Society was the place where all the Shinigami or shinigami in training stayed. It consisted of the Gotei 13, which is responsible for the cleansing of Hollows and making sure that souls make it to the Rukongai. They were also responsible for recruiting potential Shinigami from Rukongai.

Naruto had been living in Rukongai district 6 for the past year and had managed to integrate himself into there way of living rather quickly. He still looked to be around four or five, but that didn't mean he was by any means less of a threat to anyone. From the way he walked, talked, and how his eyes took in every little details, it was obvious to most that even though he is a child, that he could take care of himself in any situation. Many people in his district were put off by his cold behavior and impassive outlook on life. The boy just never seemed to show any emotion at all and the only person he really spoke to was the old lady he stayed with.

Still, he is greatly respected by the many shopkeepers and merchants because of all the helping out he does. He wouldn't go out of his way to help people, but he never turned down anyone who asked for his help, so long as they asked and didn't demand it of him. One merchant learned the hard way that Naruto did not take to being forced to do something very well. Many people who saw the incident couldn't get the image of a four year old child ripping off the offending arm of an arrogant merchant who thought to force the boy to help him move some of his supplies. What was even worse was that the boy had done so with little effort and his eyes remained as impassive as always throughout the ordeal.

Right now, Naruto was helping a merchant set up some of his goods on the street for people to buy. He calmly lifted boxes and items the heavier and larger them him with little to no strain. His unnatural strength was a great help to those that moved around lots of large items especially to the shopkeepers who needed help lifting barrels of rice for their customers.

"Thanks for the help kid, I appreciate it," smiled Han before reaching into his pocket and giving Naruto a small pouch with a few coins in it. Naruto just took the pouch and placed it inside his pants pocket without saying a word. He was about to leave, when heard some loud noises followed by laughing and looked towards the source of the sound. His eyes watched as a group of men wearing matching black robes and all had swords hanging off their hips.

"Damn, why those shinigami have to come and show up today," grumbled Han as he started to hide some of his more expensive items so that they wouldn't get broken.

"Shinigami? I thought they stayed within Soul Society," said Naruto as he watched the men cause all sorts of trouble.

"They do, but every once and awhile they come out here causing all sorts of trouble. They think just because they have those fancy swords that they are better then us," scowled Han.

"Hey you, what is with all this crap you are selling?" yelled the leader of the group of shinigami. He was a large man, with a large stomach that made up most of his mass and looked down at Han with a scowl on his face.

"These are just some jewelry and other fine items that are for sale. Would you perhaps like to purchase something?" answered Han politely.

"You must be joking, as if I would want to buy any of this cheap crap you are selling," laughed the large shinigami and his goons started to laugh as well.

Naruto frowned because if the man didn't want to buy anything then he should leave since he was blocking others from looking at the display. Normally, he wouldn't have cared, but he had offered to help Han the rest of the day and didn't want his time wasted dealing with these shinigami.

"If you are not hear to purchase anything then leave. There is no point in you being here any longer," said Naruto, causing the Shinigami to leave heated glares at him while Han started to sweat nervously.

"What did you say brat?" growled the large shinigami.

"Forgive him, he is just a child, and new to how things work," spluttered Han as he tried to calm them down.

"Do you know who I am? I am Tsep Ginyonna and twelfth seat of the Eleventh division," stated the large shinigami proudly.

"Teach that brat a lesson that no one messes with the Eleventh division," cheered the others.

"Please Shinigami-sama, he is just a child," pleaded Han desperately.

"Fine, then I will just have to teach you a lesson so that next time you will have taught the boy some better manners," grinned Tsep as he drew his sword then used it to destroy the cart containing all the items that Han and Naruto had set up.

"Ha-ha, that will teach you to mess with the Eleventh division," laughed the Tsep goons.

"Let's get going, I am starving," laughed Tesp, but just as he turned around he stopped as he noticed the boy from earlier blocking his path.

"This is how much each item cost that was damaged," said Naruto as he held out a slip of paper to the larger shinigami. Tsep just blinked before he and the others started to laugh hilariously as he ripped up the piece of paper.

"You're funny brat, but if you don't get out of my way then I am going to have to beat some manners into you," grinned Tsep as he fingered the hilt of his sword. Naruto just stood there without blinking and gazed up at Tsep through emotionless sky blue eyes.

"That's it brat, time for you to learn your place in this world," yelled Tsep as he cracked his knuckles then threw a strong punch right at the boy.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at what had happened in shock. Instead of the boy being crushed by the larger man's fist like they all assumed he would be, they looked on in awe as the small child, and caught the man's fist in his left hand.

"No way," gasped Tsep before his eyes narrowed in anger. Naruto stared into his eyes with the same look on his face that was always there, but it was easy to see that even though he blocked the man's fist that his arm was straining to hold the man for much longer.

"I do not like being touched," said Naruto slowly, before spiritual energy started to surround him and he pushed Tsep back with unreal power. Tsep stumbled backwards before falling to his ass and looked at Naruto with fear in his eyes.

"He just blocked his punch," stuttered one of the other shinigami.

"So much spiritual power it is unreal," gasped another. Tsep heard what they were saying and started to grow angrier as he had just been to look like a fool by some punk kid. No more playing around, it was time he showed this brat once and for all who was boss.

"I am going to crush you boy," growled Tsep as he quickly drew his zanpakuto and charged towards Naruto.

Naruto for the first time since anyone had known him, showed a hint of emotion as his eyes narrowed in anger, before a large blast of spiritual power exploded from his body that blew Tsep and anyone else within five feet of him backwards. He was about to take a step forward, but sensed someone behind him. His reflexes were too slow though and all he felt was a hard hit to the head before dropping to the ground unconscious.

"Captain Kuchiki," stuttered Tsep with wide eyes as he recognized the man standing over the fallen boy.

"Return to your division quarters now," said Captain Kuchiki with a cold look in his eyes.

"Hai Kuchiki-taicho, but," started Tsep, but was silenced as he noticed the sixth division's eyes narrow.

"I care not for your excuses as I will be reporting this behavior to your division captain. Now leave," interrupted Byakuya coldly. The shinigami just bowed respectfully then ran as quickly as they could back to Soul Society where they would await punishment for their actions.

'Hn,' thought Byakuya as he picked up the boy and tossed him over his shoulders. The child possessed a great deal of spiritual power, which meant he would be coming to Soul Society where he would learn to control and harness it as he learned to become a shinigami.

**Soul Society**

Darkness, once again Naruto found himself surrounded by complete darkness as he went over what had happened. The last thing he could remember was being overcome with this strange power while dealing with the large shinigami. It was strange because he had no idea where the power came from, but it felt comforting.

He didn't get to think further on the matter when he heard several voices and was taken away from the darkness he enjoyed so much. Light flooded his vision as he opened his eyes and found himself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. His head turned to the side and he took a good look at the people who were speaking about something called spiritual power. They must have noticed he was awake because they stopped talking and turned to face him with friendly smiles.

"Hello there, I didn't expect you to wake up so soon," smiled a woman with long black hair and that was twisted in a braid, which fell down to the middle of her stomach.

"Where am I?" asked Naruto as his emotionless sky blue yes bore into her own dark blue ones.

"You are currently staying within the Fourth division quarters in Soul Society. I am Unohana Retsu, Captain of the Fourth division of the Gotei 13," answered the woman as she checked him over.

"Why am I here? I thought only Shinigami were allowed in Soul Society," said Naruto.

"That is true, but we do allow those who show potential to be Shinigami to join Soul Society as well. You have a high level of spiritual power, which is why you were brought here," explained Unohana with a friendly smile.

"Does that mean I will be joining your ranks?" replied Naruto, not showing even the slightest of emotion at learning where he was or why he was there.

"That depends, you will first be sent to the Academy where you will be taught all about shinigami. After you learn the basics of what we do, you will be given a special sword, and should you be able bond with it then you will be allowed to continue your training as a potential shinigami. If you are not able to bond with the sword, then you will be sent back to the Rukongai district that you are from and we will visit you again in a few years to see if your shinigami powers are ready to manifest," explained Unohana.

"Are all the swords the same?" asked Naruto confused.

"The answer to that is yes and no. You see, every sword given to a potential Shinigami is the same. The swords are specially designed to bond with your shinigami powers, which transforms them into your own personal zanpakuto. So you see, every sword is the same until it bonds with someone then it becomes the zanpakuto of that user," smiled Unohana.

"I see," said Naruto as he processed all the information he was given.

Unohana was impressed that the child was able to understand everything that she had told him, but was worried about his lack of emotions. He just took everything in stride and not once did his body language change. It was as if he had a good grip on his emotions or he just didn't care about what was happening. She would keep a close eye on the child in the future as she wished to learn more about him.

"When will I be joining this Academy?" asked Naruto suddenly.

"Well, as soon as I give you a clean bill of health. Age doesn't really matter here as you may have noticed so even though you are younger then practically every other potential shinigami, it will not matter because all that matters is whether you can awaken your shinigami powers or not," answered Unohana.

"How will I get there?" said Naruto as he sat up and stretched out his arms. He noticed something different and looked down to see his body had changed. No longer did he looked to be four or five, but around eight or nine. This made him wonder what could have happened, but would have to ponder on it later as Unohana started to answer his question.

"Hmm, well, you are in perfect health so I can take you there right now if you like," replied Unohana as she put her clipboard down on a nearby table. Naruto nodded his head and swung his legs over the edge of the bed he had been sleeping in. He noticed he was moving awkwardly and realized he would have to get used to his new height and weight or he would be stumbling all over until he did.

"Follow me," smiled Unohana as she started to lead the way out of the Fourth division's quarters.

**Break**

It had been a month since Naruto had brought to Soul Society and not much had changed in his life other then the fact that he now stayed in a dorm room by himself and he spent most of his day at a school for potential shinigami learning. The job that Shinigami did interested Naruto greatly for some reason that he really couldn't understand. There was just something about the being able to purify souls and travel between life and death that caught his interest. For someone who had no memory of ever being alive, he had often wondered what it was like and if it was any different from being dead.

Due to his desire to learn as much as possible about Shinigami and Hollows, Naruto was at the top of all his classes despite him being the youngest by twenty to forty years. It was a known fact that people aged slower in Rukongai and Soul Society so even though someone could technically look around sixteen or eighteen, the truth is they could very well be around fifty to hundred years old. This is why age wasn't an issue when it came to recruiting potential shinigami since no one really knew the true age of someone else and you couldn't guess it based on their appearance.

"That will be all for today class. Tomorrow will be your last day here and you will receive your zanpakuto. Not everyone is ready for their shinigami powers to manifest so don't be too disappointed if you are not able to bond with your sword," said the instructor before dismissing the class.

Naruto gathered up his things and calmly left the large classroom. He thought about whether he would succeed in bonding with the sword giving him and becoming a shinigami or not. Truthfully, it didn't bother him whether or not he became a shinigami. Sure, he desired to learn more about the real world and about everything else, but there were other ways to seek the knowledge he sought. Becoming a shinigami would make it easier, but there was always another way to seek the knowledge he desired.

"_Knowledge isn't the only thing you seek," whispered a voice in his head._

Naruto paused in the middle of the hallway and looked around to see who had said that. The only problem was that there was no one else around him. His eyes narrowed, as he didn't like the idea of someone being able to spy on him without him knowing about it. He could sense another presence in the hallway with him, but was just unable to locate it.

"_Don't worry, we will meet sooner then you think," said the same voice again, before disappearing completely._

This time Naruto couldn't feel any presence and his body relaxed. For the rest of the day, he would wonder who was speaking to him in that hallway and why he wasn't able to pinpoint there location.

**Next Day**

"Unohana-taicho, why are we here?" asked Isane as she stood next to the woman who was like a mentor and mother to her. Isane possessed short silver hair with beautiful light brown eyes and is the current lieutenant of the Fourth division of the Gotei 13.

"Today is the day the current batch of shinigami potentials will receive their zanpakuto. There is one student in particular that I am interested in seeing what happens when he receives his," answered Unohana as she watched from the higher levels as all the shinigami potential started to enter the chamber where they would receive their zanpakuto or be forced to go back to the academy.

"I don't understand, why an academy student would interest you so much," replied Isane confused.

"There is just something different about him, and I wish to know more about him," said Unohana with a slight frown, as she remembered how different his spiritual energy was when she examined him.

"Which one is he?" asked Isane curiously. Now she was curious about this academy student because he had to be something interesting if he caught her captain's interest.

"He is sitting in the back right corner," gestured Unohana to the boy with cold blue eyes and wild, untamed spikey blond hair.

"Him, but he doesn't look to be very old at all," gasped Isane, as she was surprised to see someone so young.

"That's because he isn't, he has only been a soul for about two years now and in Soul Society for two months at tops," said Unohana with a small smile as Isane looked at her in disbelief.

"Impossible, there is no way he'll be able to activate his zanpakuto if he is so young. Not even Hitsuuyga-taicho was that young when he became a shinigami," spluttered Isane.

"Yes, he is very unique in more ways then any of us could imagine," said Unohana softly, as she watched as the boy's name was called to receive his sword.

**Naruto**

"Uzumaki Naruto," called out the instructor.

Naruto calmly stood up and made his way down to the instructor. The instructor nodded at him and gestured for him to take one of the blades resting against the wall. They were all the same so it didn't matter so Naruto didn't waste time looking them all over like some of the others had. He calmly grabbed a sword and the moment he did, his spiritual energy shot up around him causing a small wind that blew his instructor stumbling backwards. It only lasted for a few moments, before settling down and everyone brought their arms down from protecting their face to see Naruto placing the sword in his sash.

"Thanks," stuttered the instructor, as Naruto held out his hand to help him up.

"Well, congratulations, you may head back to your dorm where you will receive a new schedule for your training to be a shinigami," congratulated the instructor. Naruto just nodded his head at the man before taking his leave, not bothered by the fact that everyone was staring at him with a bit of awe or jealously.

"Amazing, his spiritual power is unreal for someone so young," stuttered Isane with wide eyes.

"Yes, I expected something like this to happen when he received his zanpakuto," said Unohana as she kept her face neutral. She didn't bring out the fact that she felt something different about his spiritual power. It felt kind of what a hollow's power felt like it, but much darker and no evil intent in it.

'What are you Uzumaki Naruto?' thought Unohana with a worried look in her eyes.

**Break**

Darkness, once again Naruto found himself surrounded by darkness. Like always, he enjoyed the comfort the darkness always seemed to supply him. Unfortunately, his relaxation was interrupted the darkness cleared away and he soon found himself stand in front of a very large castle. This place reeked of darkness and his eyes soon stared up into the full moon whose light illuminated the sky and the castle.

'Beautiful,' thought Naruto as he stared up at the full moon. Something about this place felt like home and filled him with energy. He couldn't ever remember ever feeling so relaxed.

"_I see you have finally arrived," said a familiar voice._

"So, it was you who spoke to me the other day. How is it you were able to speak to me before we even bonded?" said Naruto as he didn't bother looking for the source of the voice since his zanpakuto would reveal himself to him when he wanted to.

"_We are connected through the darkness, but do not worry about that now. You are still not ready to know everything yet," said the voice._

"What is your name?" asked Naruto as he changed the subject. A light laughter was heard before Naruto started to hear some footsteps from behind him.

"You are not ready to hear my name, but I will let you see what I look like," said the voice as Naruto turned around to see a tall man come out of the shadows.

The man was around six feet tall, possessed long silver hair that fell down to the middle of his back with two long strands that came down in front on either side of his face down to his neck, and had piercing light brown eyes. His black robes blended in perfectly with the darkness behind him and there was a light smirk adorning his face.

"A pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto," smirked the man. The two of them just stared into each other's eyes, both analyzing the others while betraying no emotion on their face.

**Five Years Later**

'This weapon, it doesn't feel right,' thought Naruto as he finished going through his katas.

He had been staying in Soul Society for the past five years and had been training the four types of shinigami arts since he had gained his zanpakuto. Just like when he was learning the basic history of shinigami, Naruto became the top of his classes, and even skipped a few years to the advanced classes. When it came to the Shinigami arts, Naruto excelled at them all, except for kenjutsu, which he was merely proficient at, but not at the top of his class.

The two areas that he was top of his class at were Kido and Agility. Kido is a type of magic that involves long incantations and focusing ones spiritual power to perform spells. It was broken up into two categories, destructive spells and binding spells. Destructive spells were used for directly attacking, while binding spells, were used to restrain or defensive abilities. Naruto seemed to have a gift for destructive spells as he could use any Kido destructive spell up to level 40 without much of a problem. He didn't even need to say the whole incantation for most of the spells he knew. When it came to binding spells, he was second in his class, but that didn't bother them him because he wasn't trying to be the best in everything. All he wanted was to learn as much as he could, which is why he always paid close attention to the lessons.

Agility was the second area that he was top in the class in. This mostly had to deal with learning the basics of shunpo and was taught along with their kenjutsu lessons. Naruto was the only one in the class who could perform shunpo, but he still needed to work on his aim and distance.

In hand-to-hand combat Naruto was second in the class, but that was mostly because of his incredible strength. No many students, including the instructors, could take a direct hit from Naruto. Combined with his ever increasing speed, Naruto was a major threat to anyone who came within range of his fists. Of course, his height and weight worked against him because even though he had aged in the past five years, he was still the shortest person in his class. He looked to be only around eleven or twelve, but that didn't seem to bother him even if others in his class made fun of him behind his back because of young he looked.

The only real problem Naruto had, was his kenjutsu. For some reason he just had trouble handing a sword and no matter what he did, he just couldn't find any rhythm with it. He was ninth in the class when it came to kenjutsu, but he knew he could do better with a different weapon. The teacher's noticed how uncomfortable he was wielding a sword and the only advice they could offer him was to hope that his released form of a zanpakuto would be something other then a sword. It was disappointing, but Naruto wouldn't let it bother him too much because he had other strengths he could rely on.

"Naruto-kun, I see you are out here training again," said a familiar voice that caused the boy to pause in his steps. He turned his head to see the beautiful Captain of the Fourth division walking towards him.

"Unohana-taicho," greeted Naruto with a nod of his head. He was not surprised to see the woman since she had made a habit of visiting him at least once a month these past five years. The woman never told him the exact reason why she visited him so much, but he did find her company to be soothing in a way. She was probably the only person he spoke to and actually didn't mind spending time with.

"Now Naruto-kun, I have told you in the past that you do not need to be so formal with me," smiled Unohana as she came up besides the boy.

"That wouldn't be respectful," replied Naruto as if they had had this conversation many times in the past.

"Sometimes you can be so frustrating," glared Unohana playfully. Over the five years, she had become extremely close to the boy who had caught her interest with his strange spiritual power. At first, she was merely trying to get to know Naruto and hoped to learn more about his unique power, but after a time she had really taken to the boy.

He may be cold and emotionless on the outside, but once she took the time to get to know him she realized that he was very intelligent and wise beyond his years. The truth was, he didn't know much about people or how to interact with them, which is why he seemed so cold. It was because he didn't know how to express himself and Unohana was trying her best to help him learn to interact with others better.

"I apologize, I did not mean to upset you," apologized Naruto, not knowing that she was only teasing him.

"Never mind how is your training going? I have been hearing good things about you," smiled Unohana as she changed the subject.

"Everything is fine, but I am still having some trouble with the level 50 and higher destructive spells though my bind spells are getting better," said Naruto.

"That isn't too surprising, though I know you have excellent control when it comes to your spiritual power, destructive spells above level 60 are hard even for Captains," confessed Unohana.

"I understand, but until I learn how to activate my shikai, my main weapon against Hollows will be Kido spells. Learning to master as many as I can along with being able to use them efficiently is a top priority," explained Naruto.

"You seem so sure you will be in a squad that actively hunts and purifies Hollows. Does this mean you don't want to join my squad?" teased Unohana and her eyes lit up in victory as the corners of Naruto's lips curved into a small smirk before returning to its neutral expression.

"I haven't given it much though, but I suppose it is a possibility," conceded Naruto as he glanced up at the woman.

"Well you better start to learn how to use Kido for healing then because I don't like having slackers in my division," smiled Unohana.

"I will remember that Unohana-taicho," replied Naruto with a small smile.

"Good, now how is your kenjutsu going?" asked Unohana.

"Better, but a sword doesn't seem to fit my fighting style very well. When I am finally able to obtain shikai, I am sure I will have a much easier time wielding my zanpakuto effectively in a fight," answered Naruto with a slight frown, as he was upset by is lack of progress in kenjutsu.

"I am sure it will, as a zanpakuto is a representation of ones soul, and usually lends you the power you desire," stated Unohana. Naruto just nodded his head in agreement with Unohana's statement.

"Ok, that will be enough of that, as it is time to get something to eat. Would you care to join me?" smiled Unohana warmly.

"Hai Unohana-taicho," said Naruto as he followed besides the woman towards the Fourth division where she would always make them some food.

**Gotei 13**

"Once again a new batch of shinigami will be joining our ranks and it is time to discuss who should go in which division," said Yamamoto as he addressed his twelve fellow captains.

"As long as you don't give me a bunch of wimps then I don't care," grinned Kenpachi.

"I would like to nominate Uzumaki Naruto for the Fifth division," said Aizen, causing everyone to give him their attention.

"I wouldn't mind having that brat in my division. I heard he has almost mastered Shunpo and hasn't even become an official shinigami yet," said Yoruichi with a cat-like grin on her face.

"No, he prefers fighting with Kido spells then he does hand-to-hand or with a sword so he will not be going to either Second or Eleventh division," replied Yamamoto.

"The Fifth or Ninth division seems the ideal choice to place him," said Unohana as she offered her opinion. Aizen smiled inwardly at that because the boy being placed in the ninth division worked for him as well.

General Yamamoto noticed that no one else objected to this so was about to tell Aizen, Uzumaki Naruto would join his ranks, when he was interrupted by a small cough.

"Forgive me, but I think he would be best suited for my division," said Kisuke cheerfully.

"Your division?" repeated Yoruichi with a raised eyebrow, since her friend had never personally requested someone be placed in his division before. Aizen narrowed his eyes slightly because he was wondering what the man was up to.

"Why would he be best suited for your division?" asked Hitsuuyga, as he was curious by Kisuke's actions as well.

"Well, it is for the simple fact that he loves learning things. I believe Unohana-san will agree with me on this," smiled Kisuke.

"Unohana?" asked Yamamoto as he turned to look at the woman.

"I have spent quite some time with the boy over the years and Urahara-san is correct. Uzumaki-san enjoys learning new things and developing better ways to improve his existing skills. I agree with Urahara-san and believe the boy would be well suited for the Twelfth division," stated Unohana.

"Hmm, if he is truly a prodigy as the instructors to claim him to be then he could do a lot of good for Soul Society in the Twelfth division," said Yamamoto thoughtfully.

"Got my vote Kisuke," shrugged Kyoraku, as he pulled a bottle of sake and started to drink.

"He would make a fine addition to your division," agreed Ukitake with a nod of his head towards Yamamoto.

"Very well, Uzumaki shall join the Twelfth division should he pass his final graduation test. Now, let us move onto to the others," stated Yamamoto firmly.

'No matter, I am sure I can manipulate him to join me through other means,' thought Aizen as he pushed his glasses up slightly.

**Graduation Day**

"Ok listen up, today is the day that determine whether you pass or fail. You will all be sent out to an abandoned area in the Human World where you will be responsible for hunting down and purifying one D-ranked Hollow. We will only be sending out a certain amount of people to each specific area. You are allowed to work together as a team or individually, the choice is yours, but if you run into trouble, then sent out an emergency kido flare. The other proctors in the area that will be watching over you will come right away to find you and remove you from the exercise," explained the instructor.

"Are there any questions?" asked the instructor. When no one spoke up, the instructor started to call out names and break everyone up into groups.

Naruto was in the second group and was standing by himself as all the others seemed to know each other and decided to team up. They didn't bother to ask him because they were either scared to or still resented the fact that he younger then them yet still just as skilled or more so. It didn't bother Naruto though because he would pass this test with or without help.

"Alright group two, the moment you step through this portal the exercise begins so be on your guard," said the instructor as he used his zanpakuto to open a portal to the Human World.

Naruto was the first to step through the gateway, which caused the others to snap out of their nervousness and quickly go through as well. There pride wouldn't allow them to get shown up by some kid, even though he had beat each of them several times in one of the many spars throughout their academy years.

'Hmm, so this is the Human World. It feels much different,' thought Naruto as he came out of the portal and gazed at his surroundings.

It was nighttime out and there was a full moon in the sky. All around him were abandoned buildings that looked like they hadn't had people stay in them in quite some time. This confused him because he heard the Human World was overpopulated yet here he was, and he couldn't sense anything living in his current area.

"_Pay attention, I refuse to die in such a place because you were being careless," ordered Naruto's zanpakuto._

"Let us finish this quickly then," replied Naruto as he jumped up onto the nearest building and opened his senses completely. He had no idea what a Hollow's spiritual power felt like since he had never encountered one before, but according to everything he read on them. Their signature was much more malevolent then a human or shinigami's signature. The one thing he did notice was that the others in his group headed in the opposite direction of him as he felt their signatures growing weaker the farther away from the gateway he moved.

"_Above you," said the zanpakuto._

Naruto quickly did a back flip and drew his zanpakuto in mid-air before landing on his feet while two Hollows crashed into the spot he was in a second ago. He immediately got into a defensive stance as the Hollows realized they missed him and roared in anger. One Hollow looked like a giant Bird with razor sharp claws and teeth while the other looked like some deformed blob.

"**Food," yelled the Hollows as they flew at him.**

They were moving so slow and he could barely feel any power coming off them at all. He was greatly disappointed because he had thought this test would be harder, but it seems D-ranked Hollows truly were weak as can be. Naruto calmly raised his left hand and pointed his point finger, which was glowing red from his spiritual power, right at the bird hollow.

"Strike," whispered Naruto. A thin, two-inch thick red beam, burst out of his finger and struck the bird hollow right in the chest. Strike was a level 9 binding spell that engulfed whatever it hit in a red light and paralyzed them completely. The hollows were so weak that Naruto doubted he needed to say the incantation, but did so anyway just to be sure. It was better to be safe then to be dead.

Deciding it was best to conserve further spiritual power, he dodged to the side then delivered a quick slash to the second hollow. It didn't even stand a chance as its whole body was cut in half and it disappeared. Naruto turned to see the bird hollow was still bound and calmly jumped into the air at it before slicing its mask in half.

"_Pathetic," scowled the zanpakuto._

'Test completed, no point in staying here any longer,' said Naruto as he headed back in the direction from which he came. When he was about half-way to the portal, he felt a large surge of spiritual power that felt remarkable like the Hollows he just purified, but much stronger and more of them. He looked off in the distance to see about ten Hollows chasing after one of the people that were in his group.

'These Hollows are not D-class, and are at least B-class,' thought Naruto as he headed off to help his fellow peer. He knew it may be foolish to take on a group of B-class Hollows especially when he had slim to no experience fighting such beings, but he wanted to learn more about them. There spiritual power felt similar to his own in a way and he was hoping to learn more about them so he foolishly went to engage them.

"Help," yelled the shinigami with eyes wide in fear. Naruto stopped a good distance in front of the man and started to gather his spiritual power.

"Destructive Art # 33: Blue Fire, Crash Down," yelled Naruto as he held out his left hand with his palm faced towards the middle of the group of Hollows. A large blue fireball made of spiritual power shot out of his palm at high speeds towards the group of Hollows just as they were about to each take a bite out of the shinigami creating a huge explosion as it hit them.

"Get a safe distance away and the send up a Kido flare. I will hold them until reinforcements arrive," said Naruto as the man ran up to him.

"Right," spluttered the shinigami quickly before running off at high speeds. A loud roar was heard and out of the dust caused by Naruto's kido spell, came several Hollows that had managed to avoid being hit by the spell. Naruto eyes narrowed as he noticed that there were still eight C and B-class Hollows left that were heading straight for him.

"_Take out the weak ones first," ordered the zanpakuto._

'I expected that last spell to do more damage then that, but it seems the difference in power levels is greater then I thought,' replied Naruto as he started to jump from building to building to dodge the Hollows attacking him.

"_Still think that learning more about your opponents is worth risking your life?" said the zanpakuto._

'Knowledge is just as powerful a weapon as any sword or spell,' said Naruto before jumping straight into the air to as the building crumbled to the ground.

"**Ha-ha, foolish Shinigami, die!" yelled one of the hollows.**

Naruto quickly used his sword to cut right through the Hollow's body, but was unprepared for the attack coming at him from the side. He grunted in pain as a large tail slapped him to the ground with incredible force. His entire back flared in unimaginable pain, but he quickly pushed in to the back of his mind as he rolled to the right to avoid being eaten by another Hollow.

'Seven left,' groaned Naruto as he raised his left hand into the air and chanted his next kido spell.

"Destructive Art #31: Red Flame Cannon," announced Naruto before a red ball of spiritual energy destroyed the Hollow that was coming down at him. Now he had only six Hollows left to defeat, but his spiritual energy were low from using two mid-level kido spells.

The Hollows started to swarm around Naruto in a circle as the boy was panting heavily from exertion. He had managed to take out four of them, but now he was at the last of his strength. Two of his ribs were broken and he was bleeding profusely from his right side where one of the Hollows managed to graze him with their claws. Just as they were about to attack him, Naruto found himself back on top of the highest tower at a familiar looking castle.

**Mindscape**

"_Tell me child, do you truly believe that knowledge is the way to ultimate power and worth dying for?" asked the man, as his eyes were lit up in amusement._

"Yes, it is only through knowledge that one is able to gain true power," replied Naruto without hesitation.

"_Do you truly desire power so much or perhaps it is something else you seek?" smirked the man knowingly._

"I don't know what it is I seek yet, but I do know that the only way I will find out is by learning as much as I can. I will find whatever is I am looking for and I refuse to die until I have all the answers I seek," said Naruto with a hard look in his eyes. One could easily see the conviction in his eyes and knew that he would do what it took to achieve his goals.

"_You are ready, to use my strength. Together, we will find the answers you seek so much," smirked the man._

"What is your name?" asked Naruto.

**Reality**

The Hollows were just about to tear Naruto limb from limb when a huge burst of spiritual power exploded from the boy and sent them all flying back into the buildings behind them. Black spiritual energy swirled around Naruto as his eyes glowed a bright blue while his right hand raised his sword up slowly. He then began to speak and his voice rung loud and clear.

"Give me the power of everlasting darkness, Xemnas!" yelled Naruto before his spiritual power skyrocketed even further. The zanpakuto in Naruto's hands disappeared completely and the boy stood up straight as he ignored his injuries. He slowly raised his arms up and flexed both of his hands before holding them out at 45 degrees from his body. In an instant, two red beams appeared in each of his hands and glowed fiercely.

"_There is nothing more you can learn from these beasts, destroy them," said Xemnas._

Naruto didn't bother to respond and merely took off at the nearest two Hollows. He was in front of them before they could snap out of their fear of his new power and dispersed in two clean swipes. Then, in one swift motion he did a complete 180 with each beam held out parallel to the ground. When he finished his spin, the Hollow that tried to sneak up on him, dispersed into nothingness, and now only three more were left.

"Destructive Art# 4: White Lightning," said Naruto as a beam of lightning charged spiritual energy shot out of his right fingers and destroyed the Hollow coming at him from that side. Usually, a low-level spell like that wouldn't work on a B-class Hollow, but he had poured a great deal of power in the spell that obliterated the mask of the Hollow along with its head.

'My spiritual power is too low, and my body is becoming strained from moving around for so long while injured,' groaned Naruto as he fell down to a knee. He still had enough power left for one high-level kido spell, but it was an all or nothing deal. If he missed or they moved out of the way he would be took weak, but to accept death so he had to make it count. Chances are he would be causing significant damage to himself as well since he really couldn't control the particular spell he had in mind all that well.

Strange, he had read in moments like these, most people started to fear for their lives, but he felt nothing. Just like always, he felt absolutely nothing at all. It was something he would ponder on later after he had healed from this whole ordeal.

The two Hollows roared loudly as they came within several feet of the wounded shinigami. They usually would have ran away in fear of their lives, but they believed he was too injured to continue any further and was nothing more then a sitting duck. This was a mistake they would never get to make again as Naruto raised both his hands and chanted another spell with the last of his power put into it.

"Destructive Art#63: Thunder Roar Cannon," said Naruto before a huge explosion rocked the area.

'Ugh,' groaned Naruto in pain as his body finally came to a stop after skidding and tumbling across the ground for about ten to fifteen feet. The last he heard were several voices heading towards him before he blacked out.

**Mindscape**

"I must admit, that was very foolish of you, but it worked well," said Xemnas as he stood before Naruto.

"It was my only option, if I had used a mid-level spell I might not have taken out both of them and then I would be dead for sure," replied Naruto.

"Ha-ha, perhaps working with you won't be so dull after all," smirked Xemnas before they started to talk about what little they learned about Hollows from their recent engagement.

**Break**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at a ceiling that he had not seen in five years, since the last time he had been here. He could feel his body was still sore from his fight with those Hollows so he took his time sitting up. His zanpakuto was leaning against the wall next to his bed and there were a pair of clothes for him to wear in the chair against the far wall. With careful ease, as not to reopen any of his wounds, he slowly got out of bed and headed over to the chair to put on his clothes.

The whole right part of his chest was bandages up along with his right arm and his head as well. He found himself limping as he made his way over to his clothes and even grimaced slightly in pain as he put them on.

'Performing that last kido spell did more damage to me then I thought it would,' grimaced Naruto as he finished tying the sash around his clothes. He didn't get to think more on the matter when the door to his room opened up and in walked the vice-captain of the Fourth division with a surprised look on her face as she saw him out of bed.

"How are you up and about? You should be out for at least two more days," gasped Isane as Naruto looked at her impassively.

"Isane-chan, why are you standing in the doorway like that?" said a beautiful voice from behind the woman.

"Um, sorry Taicho, but I was just surprised to see Uzumaki-san already awake and out of bed," apologized Isane as she entered the room with Unohana following behind her.

"Uzumaki-san, I am surprised to see you awake, but you should really be in bed. Your wounds have not fully healed and I don't want you to reopen them," smiled Unohana.

"Forgive me Unohana-taicho, I meant no disrespect, but I am feeling fine," bowed Naruto respectfully. Isane was impressed, because most people didn't respect the Fourth division since they were the healers and not the fighters of Soul Society. This boy seemed to have a great deal of respect for her taicho and that instantly made her like him.

"You are not feeling fine, I can tell by the way you are standing, and your right arm is still heavily burned from that last kido spell you used," glared Unohana lightly before pointing at the bed and Naruto clearly got the message as he sat back down on the bed. He leaned his back against the wall so that he wasn't lying on his back, but sitting up in the bed.

"I did not expect that last kido spell to do that much damage to me in the resulting backlash," explained Naruto, causing both women to look at him incredulously.

"Didn't expect that last kido spell to do that much damage? You used a number 63 Destructive Art at close range, you are lucky to even be alive especially," yelled Isane in disbelief at Naruto.

"My fuku-taicho is right, it was rather foolish of you to use such a high level kid spell as well as taking on ten Hollows ranging between low C-class to mid B-class in power," frowned Unohana. Naruto didn't bother to reply to that because his reasons for doing that were his own so remained silent.

"How much trouble am I in for using such a powerful kido spell?" asked Naruto as he changed the subject.

"I will go check on the others," bowed Isane as she left the room as she could tell her taicho wished to speak with the boy alone.

"Not much, you did save the life of a fellow shinigami and take out ten Hollows that would be mainly reserved for seated offices so you will only be getting off with a small slap on the wrist," answered Unohana truthfully, with a small smile.

"I do believe congratulations are in order though as you have finally graduated from the academy and are now an official shinigami," congratulated Unohana with a beautiful smile.

"Thank you," said Naruto gratefully.

"This belongs to you," smiled Unohana as she pulled out a small envelope and handed it to Naruto. Naruto took the letter and opened it calmly.

"So I will be joining the Twelfth division as the 10th seated officer," said Naruto as a pleased look appeared on his face.

"I take it you are pleased with the division you got in?" chuckled Unohana, as she realized that Naruto seemed to be have trouble smiling before going back to his neutral expression.

"Hai, I was hoping to be inducted in the Twelfth division as it will allow me access to more classified items," said Naruto with an anxious look in his eyes. That look in his eyes worried Unohana and she was now starting to regret giving her vote to Urahara.

"Please be careful, I don't want you pushing yourself to hard to learn everything," said Unohana with a soft smile. Naruto saw the look Unohana was giving him because he had never seen her look so distressed before. He wondered what it could have upset, but nonetheless nodded his head at the woman.

**Twelfth Division: Research and Scientific division**

It had been two more days until Naruto had recovered from his injuries and Unohana allowed him to leave the Fourth division quarters. He was now making his way towards the Twelfth division quarters where he would meet with the current captain of that division. Finally, he would have a place to work as he sought the knowledge he desired.

"_You will be have to be careful as many will no doubt try to stop you from achieving your goals to further their own," warned Xemnas._

'I will not be stopped and I will eliminate those who would wish to prevent me from obtaining the knowledge I seek,' replied Naruto simply.

"_There are still many out there that are stronger then you so you must learn to mask your activities from prying eyes until you are strong enough to take on any opponent," said Xemnas wisely._

'Very well, but I will need you teach me more on how to use your powers so that I may grow stronger,' said Naruto.

"_Do not worry, I will make sure to teach you everything you know to harness the darkness within you," smirked Xemnas._

That signaled the end of their conversation as Naruto came upon the Twelfth division quarters and Captain Urahara was waiting for him at the entrance. Naruto kept the same neutral expression on his face that was always there as he observed the man. It would easily to tell that though the man didn't seem all that dangerous, that he reeked of power, and was not someone to be messed with.

"Greetings Naruto-san," smiled Kisuke cheerfully.

"Urahara-taicho, it is an honor to meet you," bowed Naruto respectfully.

'It is just as I expected, his spiritual power is different then other shinigami, and his zanpakuto doesn't feel like any other zanpakuto I have been around before,' thought Kisuke.

"Come, I will show you your workstation and what your main duties will be while here," smiled Kisuke, causing Naruto to nod his head as he followed a few paces behind the man and listened closely as he started to speak.


	2. Thirty Years Later

'Hollows, are beings that have no heart yet still live and feed on the souls of others,' thought Naruto as he went over his notes. For the past thirty years, he had spent most of his time either in the Human World or in his own lab researching many things, but mostly the habits and characteristics of Hollows.

Something about these creatures caught his interest long ago and since then he had been dying to learn more about them. There were just so many things that he learned about Hollows in the academy that didn't make sense. They were classified as mindless or semi-intelligent creatures, whose only goal was to feed on the souls of others to survive, but Naruto knew there had to be more to it then that. If they were really so mindless and weak then why could the higher ranked one come up with such advanced strategies to take out shinigami? Eventually, this led to Naruto do a more in depth study of why Shinigami tended to overlook the true power of Hollows.

Another thing that he had learned in the past thirty years he had learned about Soul Society is that Shinigami believed themselves better then all others. Very few of them had any real respect for the living world and took no real joy in helping lost souls, but much rather preferred to fight Hollows. Why would a society based on the purification of souls place so little value in life? He learned that because of there arrogance in believing their superiority over Hollows that Shinigami didn't bother to truly study their enemies.

Naruto was starting to believe that Shinigami were the cause of the dramatic rise in Hollows. They were so anxious to fight and prove their strength that they easily overlooked the wondering souls and only noticed them once they became Hollows.

The reason for this conclusion was because Hollows didn't have the organs to reproduce and even if they did they didn't have the same internal functions needed to perform such actions. He studied several hollows ranging from D to S-class and dissected them thoroughly. They were composed mainly of flesh and blood, and depending on there spiritual power, some unique abilities, but that was it. Hollows were not meant to reproduce because there only function seemed to be to devour souls. Reproduction was not a survival instinct for Hollows like it was with Humans and Shinigami. Therefore, Naruto made his conclusion that due to the lack of care for protecting the living, the numbers of Hollows are increasing and it was the Shinigami's fault.

Of course, his conclusion was merely speculations and it could always be something else. He was not arrogant enough to believe that his conclusion was the only possible one out there. No, he was sure there were other reasons to the increase in Hollows as well, but had yet to discover it.

'I wonder, what if it is possible for a Hollow to gain shinigami powers or vice versa," mumbled Naruto, as he went over some more of his notes. He didn't realize that his research had becoming remarkably similar to that of his Captain's, but he didn't know that as he never bothered to see what the man was doing since he had his own things to deal with.

"_They are two sides of the same coin. It would make sense that each had the potential to use the powers of the other," said Xemnas as he appeared next to Naruto._

Xemnas had been manifesting outside Naruto's mindscape for the past year now and it made it much easier for the two talk. Naruto greatly appreciated his help and he offered insightful criticism that helped him better analyze his experiments and notes.

"I believe they are called Arrancars, but there are no true sightings on such hollows," finished Xemnas.

"Yes, but I believe such hollows do exist. The similarities between a Hollow and Shinigami are almost identical except for the fact that a soul doesn't lose its heart when it becomes a shinigami," replied Naruto.

"The only way to truly find out would be to travel to Hueco Mundo," smirked Xemnas.

"I am only a third seat officer, and I doubt they would let me travel to Hueco Mundo even if I was a captain without giving them a good enough reason," frowned Naruto.

"That doesn't stop your captain from doing illegal activities," pointed out Xemnas. He did have a good point because Naruto knew for a fact that Urahara-taicho conducted many illegal experiments to further his own understanding of things as did many others in the Twelfth division.

They didn't get to discuss the matter further when a hell butterfly floated in front of him and delivered a message to him. It seemed that Urahara-taicho wished to give to speak with him. After it delivered the message, it disappeared and Naruto sent one of his own in reply so that his captain would know he would be there soon.

**Urahara's Office**

"Taicho, you wished to speak with me?" bowed Naruto as he entered the man's office.

"Ah Naruto-san, how have you been?" smiled Kisuke cheerfully. The Twelfth division captain was always very cheerful when he spoke with his subordinate even Mayuri who didn't get along with anyone. Mayuri held a major grudge against Naruto because the boy beat him out for the third seat when he had been in the division longer then Naruto.

"I have been well," answered Naruto, as he waited for his captain to tell him why he was here. His Captain for some reason seemed to find it amusing to waste time making small talk so Naruto decided to get right to the point.

"You wished to see me concerning a mission?" said Naruto.

"Yes, the Fourth Division has sent a request that we help them develop a better way to carry around the medical equipment when they go on missions. I figured since you and Unohana-san are such good friends that you wouldn't mind taking charge of this request," smiled Kisuke.

"Very well, I shall get to work immediately," replied Naruto.

"Good, but Unohana-san will be sending her fuku-taicho over to show you what exactly it is they use on the field. I want you to meet with her tomorrow," smiled Kisuke.

"Hai," bowed Naruto before taking his leave.

'Hmm, I wonder if he will actually be able to help them or not,' wondered Kisuke with a contemplative look in his eyes. Naruto was a certified genius, which was a fact he had proven numerous times with the way he was able to analyze and break down any problem that was presented to him. The kid had even helped him create a new type of gigai, but it still wasn't ready to be tested yet.

**Next Day**

"Taicho, I still don't understand why you are assigning me to this particular mission. I mean couldn't one of the seated officers do this mission?" said Isane as she walked next to her captain towards the Twelfth division quarters.

"Isane-chan, I think once you give Uzumaki-san a chance you two will get along perfectly. Besides, you are most qualified to help with this since you have explicit knowledge on all the type of devices we use and spells we use," smiled Unohana.

"If you say so taicho, but I get the feeling there is more to why you are sending me on this mission," sighed Isane.

"Oh look, there Uzumaki-san is now," said Unohana as she ignored Isane's last compliment.

Isane blushed slightly as she got a good look at the boy, no man that was waiting for them outside the Twelfth division compound. He looked to be around eighteen or nineteen and was incredibly handsome, but in actuality was really in his early thirties. She estimated him to be about 5'10 or 5'11 with beautiful sky blue eyes and wild, untamed spikey blond hair.

"Uzumaki-san, you have grown since I last seen you," chuckled Unohana. Naruto just looked at her curiously because they had met less then a month ago to chat like always, but he never did understand her when she made comments like that.

"Unohana-taicho, Isane-fuku-taicho, it is a pleasure to see you both," bowed Naruto respectfully.

"Uzumaki-san, I look forward to working with you," bowed Isane with a small smile on her face. Unohana noticed the way Isane gazed at Naruto when she thought no one was looking at felt a bit of jealously rise in her, but quickly squashed it down. There was no reason for her to be jealous since she and Naruto were merely good friends and Isane is one of her closest friends as well.

"I will leave you two be, and I look forward to your future progress," smiled Unohana before taking her leave.

"Come, I will take you to my lab," said Naruto as he led the way through the Twelfth division. Isane just nodded her head and followed next to Naruto.

**Naruto's Lab**

"This is all the equipment you use?" asked Naruto, as he stared at the items that Isane had laid out on the table.

"These are all the items that we use on and off the field, but most of them we don't take with us onto the field. You see, when using healing kido there isn't any real chant except for maybe the more draining spells. To be able to use healing kido one has to be in touch with life and know the anatomy of a human body," explained Isane.

"If that is the case, then why do you carry around some of these other items?" said Naruto as he picked up an item he didn't recognize.

"Using healing kido is just as draining, maybe even more so then using the Destructive or Binding Arts. That item along with these ones over here, are able to use the spiritual energy in the air and convert it to healing kido when a shinigami runs low on their own. The only problem is that it isn't as potent so it takes twice as long to be of any real help," said Isane.

"Hmm, I can understand why you don't carry around all these items. The Fourth division isn't known for their battle abilities and they are required to provide the healing support, which means they need all the speed they can get to avoid hollows during a battle as carrying around too much weight would slow them down," frowned Naruto, before he started to take some notes.

"Just because we aren't a battle oriented squad doesn't mean we can't fight," huffed Isane defensively.

"I am sorry if my comment upset you, but I was not implying you couldn't fight. I was merely stating that your squad wasn't sent into battle for combat purposes," said Naruto, causing Isane to flush embarrassedly. She had jumped to conclusions and she could tell by Naruto's eyes that he hadn't implied what she had thought he was implying.

"Sorry, I just don't like when people talk down about Unohana-taicho's squad," confessed Isane sheepishly. Naruto just nodded his head because he didn't really understand her feelings, but would merely act as if he did to make her happy.

"I believe I have an idea to fix the current problem with members of the Fourth division running low on spiritual power, but I will need you to provide me with a complete autonomy on how spiritual powers flow through the body," said Naruto.

"Ok, that shouldn't be hard to get at all," smiled Isane before she started to tell him more about each individual item that wasn't a basic medical item.

**Break**

"Where are we going again?" asked Naruto as he walked next to Unohana. He should have been in his lab working on his new item to help the Fourth Division, but Unohana had insisted that he take a break to get something to eat.

"We are going to get something to eat," smiled Unohana.

"Why are we in Rukongai then? There are plenty of places to eat in Soul Society," frowned Naruto confused.

"Yes, but sometimes it is nice to go out and get something to eat somewhere else then the usual division quarters," explained Unohana.

"You don't like staying in Soul Society," stated Naruto, causing Unohana to look up at him in surprise.

"Why do you say that?" asked Unohana curiously.

"I noticed you seem more relaxed once we past the gate guard, and you're talking more freely then you usually do," answered Naruto as he glanced down at the woman.

"Hmm, I guess I will have to work on controlling my emotions better if you can see through me so easily," said Unohana with a fake smile. Naruto just nodded his head before asking her a question that caught her off guard.

"Why do you not like Soul Society?" asked Naruto. Unohana just sighed and her shoulders slumped a bit before she replied to him.

"It isn't that I don't enjoy being there and helping purify souls along with helping others, but I do not like the way things are run. It seems as if all shinigami are being raised to only value fighting abilities and care about nothing else," replied Unohana. Naruto was probably the only person she would truly confide these types of feelings in because she knew she could trust him. He just had that type of aura about him that let you know he wouldn't judge you or betray your secrets.

"Yes, I have noticed that as well, but I wonder if that means you do not like me either," said Naruto, causing Unohana to look at him with a hurt look in her eyes.

"I say this because I do not truly care for the on goings or the wellbeing of others either," stated Naruto as he explained himself for his last comment.

"That is not true, because I know for a fact that you always help and sometimes go out of your way to perform konso on wandering souls in the living world when you go there," argued Unohana with a knowing look in her eyes.

Naruto frowned at that comment because what she had said was true and he never realized it. Whenever he felt a soul, wandering around he always went to find it before a Hollow came around then performed konso on it. For some reason the idea of someone, defenseless being attacked didn't set well with him and he would have the urge to protect it. He eventually narrowed it down to something he picked up from his life when he was a human, but couldn't be for sure since he still couldn't really remember anything from his past life. It wasn't that big of a problem anymore because he had become much better at suppressing any of these unexplainable urges as of lately.

"If you dislike Soul Society so much why do you still continue your duties as a shinigami?" asked Naruto as he changed the subject.

"I love helping people and I would never abandon those who look to me for help. I take great joy in teaching all those that join my division and even if I dislike how most shinigami are. I would never refuse to aid them unless I thought they were doing the wrong thing," replied Unohana with a small smile.

"Your answer confuses me," replied Naruto honestly.

"Yes well, I have heard much the same thing from Isane-chan when she asked me why I willingly help those who talk down about my division," laughed Unohana. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly in anger because the idea of someone talking bad about Unohana upset him greatly for some reason. He would have to look into why he was feeling so protective of Unohana later when he was back in his lab.

"Oh look, a ramen stand. Why don't we go eat there since I doubt you have ever had it before," smiled Unohana as she headed towards it. She wouldn't realize it until after Naruto had his first bowl, but from this day forward Naruto would be in love with ramen and eat it whenever he had the chance.

**Soul Society: Twelfth Division**

It had about six months since Naruto was assigned to help out the Fourth Division and after many trials of error, he was almost done developing something that could save many lives. Funny, but he had got the inspiration from a distant memory of his and based his new items off that. The concept of what he wanted to develop was simple, but actually making the items was what kept giving him the problems until he realized how to fix it. He was just about to continue perfecting his new invention when he sensed someone nearby and turned around quickly to find himself looking into the smiling eyes of the Fifth division captain.

"Hello Naruto-san, I don't mean to intrude, but I was hoping to get the chance to speak with you," smiled Aizen. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he sensed something wrong with this picture before he realized what it was.

"So that is how you got in here, by using a kido spell to project your image here. I have never heard of any spell being able to do that," said Naruto as he approached the man and stuck his hand through him.

"You truly are a genius to have figured it out so quickly, and I would be willing to teach you how to perform such a spell, but I have more important business to speak with you about," chuckled Aizen. Naruto withdrew his hand and then took a step back before asking him why he was here.

"What is you wish from me taicho?" asked Naruto not betraying any emotion. For a shinigami that wielded the power of darkness as a weapon it was easy for him to see that this man was surrounded by an aura of darkness. Curious, as he had never realized that the gentle captain of the Fifth division was truly a master puppeteer until he started to speak with him about joining him in his goals in return for a place to conduct his research without ever being bothered.

"I have only one condition," said Naruto, causing Aizen to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.

"What would that be?" asked Aizen curiously. He could always just kill the boy instead of indulging a demand of his, but he knew that he would make a great ally. If his newest invention wasn't a sign of his genius then nothing was and Aizen wanted his mind working for him not Soul Society.

"The Fourth Division Captain is not to be harmed at all," said Naruto firmly. Naruto desired for an area to perform his research without worrying about his repercussions, but did not wish to see Unohana hurt though he couldn't explain why.

'Interesting, he seems to have developed a deep attachment to Unohana-san. Very well, I will agree to his terms,' thought Aizen before nodding his head.

"It is agreed, I will make sure no harm comes to Unohana-san and in return you help me take over Soul Society," smiled Aizen.

"I accept," said Naruto, causing Aizen to break out in a large grin. Everything was going according to plan.


	3. New invention and unknown enemies

"Yamamoto-sama, a large group of shinigami were attacked by several A to S-class hollows that somehow managed to breach Rukongai," yelled a shinigami in a panic.

"Send the Eleventh division to deal with the hollows and alert the Fourth division to gather the wounded," ordered Yamamoto with a heavy frown on his face.

"Hai Yamamoto-sama," bowed the shinigami before using shunpo to do as he was told as quickly as possible.

* * *

**Twelfth Division**

"Taicho, all of Soul Society has been put on emergency alert. Several high class hollows have somehow breached Rukongai," said Naruto as he entered his captain's lab.

"Hmm, is that why you came to visit me?" asked Kisuke with a knowing look in his eyes.

"No," replied Naruto as he stood across from his Captain. The two shinigami stared into each other's eyes without even flinching or blinking. Kisuke knew why Naruto had really come to visit him and Naruto knew his captain knew why he was here as well.

"So, will you be turning me in then?" said Kisuke with a raised eyebrow.

"There is no point in me doing that as they will eventually trace it back to you or Mayuri will turn you in as he will no doubt figure out what you did and gladly take this opportunity to clear his way to become captain. I did try to warn you that the gigai was not ready to be used yet, but you ignored my warning," responded Naruto calmly.

"Yes, I suppose you are right and you did warn me," conceded Kisuke with a small smile.

"You will have a few years before they learn of what you did. I would use that time wisely taicho," said Naruto as he turned to leave the room.

"Oh, congratulations on the little invention you created. I look forward to when it starts becoming mass produced for all shinigami," smiled Kisuke as Naruto used shunpo to disappear. The boy was definitely a prodigy and would do great things for the Twelfth division once he left and took it over as captain that is if Mayuri didn't kill him to get that position for himself.

* * *

**Rukongai: District 70**

Fourth division members ran all over the place as they treated not only the wounded shinigami, but also the wounded souls of district 70. Many of the homes and buildings were destroyed during the battle to get rid of the hollows that had somehow managed to get into Rukongai. No one found out how they did it, but they would worry about that later once everyone had been treated.

"Taicho, there are just too many people wounded and our units are running low on spiritual energy," panted Isane as she too was running low. Unohana quickly got up from her kneeled position as she had just finished healing a couple shinigami and there was a grim look in her eyes.

"I know, but we have to try our best and save as many people as we can. Just make sure that our forces don't push themselves to hard otherwise, they will be one of the wounded as well," sighed Unohana.

"Perhaps, I can be of assistance," said a familiar voice and both women turned around to see Naruto walking towards them.

"Naruto-san, what are you doing here?" asked Isane, before flushing as she realized she had addressed him so informally in front of her captain.

"I am curious as well," said Unohana with a raised eyebrow. Naruto stood in front of the women before reaching into his cloak and pulling out a small bag. They watched as he reached into the bag and pulled out a small spherical object that looked remarkably like a gigai.

"Eat this," said Naruto as he held it out for Isane to take.

"Why are you giving me a gigai?" asked Isane confused, as she took the item.

"Eat," repeated Naruto. Isane looked at her captain, received a nod so slowly put the object in her mouth, and ate it. A few moments after she finished swallowing it, her eyes widened in shock as she felt her spiritual power refilling rapidly.

"Incredible, my power is returning to me," gasped Isane in disbelief.

"They are called soldier pills, and will help restore the spiritual energy of any shinigami that eats it. There are side-effects though if it is taken continuously so don't give out more then two to each of your units," sad Naruto as he handed two bags to Unohana and started to take his leave.

"Wait, you are just going to leave?" yelled Isane, causing Naruto to paused and look back at both women.

"I have completed my mission to design something to increase the efficiency of the Fourth Division and decrease the amount of deaths. Should you need more then I will start working on more as they can be used for other divisions as well," replied Naruto.

"Thank you Naruto-kun, this new invention of yours will help more then you can imagine," smiled Unohana before surprising Isane by bowing respectfully to him. Naruto just nodded his head then used shunpo to return to his lab.

"Isane, I want you to distribute these _soldier pills_ to all of our units right away. Make sure to warn them of overdosing," ordered Unohana with a hard look in her eyes.

"Hai," replied Isane then disappearing in a flash step.

'Naruto-kun, can you really feel nothing after creating something that can do so much good?' thought Unohana with a worried look in her eyes.

* * *

**Gotei 13 Gathering: Two Days after Hollow Invasion**

Naruto was standing before all thirteen Captains of the Gotei 13 with an emotionless look on his face. He had been called in here after Yamamoto had found out it was due to his new invention that many lives were saved. The council 46 had ordered he be brought in since he had allowed the release of an experimental new item without the proper authority.

The truth was that the Council 46 didn't like when something happened outside their control. They went through great lengths to put as many limitations on the Shinigami as they could so that nothing happened without their approval. Naruto had disrupted that balance when he delivered his new invention without any proper authority, which undermined their authority.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you have been called here today because you handed out an experimental invention without the proper authority. How do you plead?" said Yamamoto as he looked down at the man. Naruto was about to respond, but was interrupted when Unohana stood up and started to speak.

"Yamamoto-taicho, it was I who gave the order to distribute the items after seeing how helpful they could be in the current situation," interrupted Unohana, causing Yamamoto to face her.

"Are you taking responsibility for this action then?" asked Yamamoto sternly.

"Yes," replied Unohana without a shred of hesitation. All the other captains looked at her curiously, except for Zaraki who hadn't bothered to show up since he found the whole thing boring.

"Very well then," started Yamamoto, but stopped when Naruto interrupted him.

"Yamamoto-taicho, I take responsibility since I invented the soldier pills and taking any action against Unohana-taicho would severely hurt Soul Society," interrupted Naruto. He didn't really care what happened to Soul Society, but he did not wish to see Unohana get in trouble because the Council 46 felt threatened of his growing power.

Unohana looked down at him in slight surprise because she didn't expect him to come to her defense like he did. She knew they were close, but it was still surprising as he had never acted so protective of her before.

"Explain," replied Yamamoto.

"Since she became captain of the Fourth division, the efficiency and strength of its units have increased by 60 and has saved countless lives, shinigami and pulse souls alike. Those that are in the Fourth Division hold great respect for her and if she was to be demoted or any other type of action it would cause moral to go down in that division possibly leading to more deaths," explained Naruto, not in the least bit intimidated by all the eyes on him.

'He seems to really do care for Unohana-san, but I am sure I can break him of that by the time it comes to taking over Soul Society,' thought Aizen as he kept his face neutral.

"How do you know all this?" asked Ukitake curiously.

"I have done extensive research on the history of Soul Society and its divisions. Everything I have told you is the truth and if need me to, I can prove it," replied Naruto as he glanced at the division thirteenth's captain.

Yamamoto frowned at this because he didn't like what the boy was implying. Naruto was essentially saying that Unohana was untouchable unless he wanted the Fourth Division to go on riot because of their loyalty to their captain. The old man didn't doubt that they would do it either because Unohana was loved by those in her division and she was one of the few that actually had a zanpakuto that could heal. It seems he would have to let the boy off with a light reprimand or Unohana would insist she take the blame and that would be bad for Soul Society if he punished her.

"I agree with him Yamamoto-taicho. Punishing Unohana-san or Uzumaki-san for saving many lives seems to be a little extreme," said Aizen as he flashed a friendly smile at Naruto.

"If it makes you feel better, I tested his _soldier pills,_ and they are perfectly safe so long as you don't constantly use them, otherwise you will gain an addiction that will limit your functions without them," smiled Kisuke as he offered his two cents.

"Hell, those damn pills could put an average shinigami on par with a high class hollow since it replenishes their reserves and allows a shinigami to fight for a longer amount of time," grinned Yoruichi.

"Very well, I will speak with the Council 46, but next time you will not get off so easy," said Yamamoto before dismissing everyone.

Naruto was making his way back to the Twelfth division quarters when a familiar presence appeared besides him. He turned his head to see Unohana giving him a beautiful smile.

"Thank you," smiled Unohana as she walked next to him.

"Why are you thanking me?" asked Naruto confused.

"I am thanking you for those kind words you said about me. I am happy to know that you care about me," smiled Unohana.

"I was merely stating a fact," replied Naruto, but Unohana could see it in his eyes that it was something more.

"Was that all or was it something else?" asked Unohana as she stopped walking, which caused Naruto to stop and turn to face her. Naruto didn't say anything, but he didn't have to because the look in his eyes told Unohana everything.

"Either way, I am grateful for what you did," smiled Unohana before taking a few steps towards him. Naruto didn't move an inch as Unohana came within his personal space then stood up on her toes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Have a good Naruto-kun," said Unohana with a beautiful smile before walking away. She didn't know when or how it happened, but she had developed deep feelings for the younger shinigami.

Naruto watched her go with a contemplative look in his eyes as he touched the spot she had kissed lightly. He just watched her disappear before using shunpo to take him back to his lab.

* * *

**Break**

"What are you still doing here? You should be long gone by now," frowned Yoruichi as she jumped down into the large under cavern and landed lightly on her feet.

This place was built by Kisuke so that they would have a place to train without anyone knowing what they were doing. In fact, Kisuke had even used this place to obtain his Bankai using that weird invention of his. Right now, he was sitting on a medium size rock with a smile on his face and a bottle of sake next to him.

"Hmm, just thinking about a few things," shrugged Kisuke, causing Yoruichi to scowl at him before swiping the bottle of sake and taking a swig.

"Still the same lazy bastard as always," grinned Yoruichi.

"Hehe, what can I say, it would be incredible tiresome to be on the run all the time if I chose to leave without warning," smiled Kisuke. He wasn't worried because he still had a year or two before they found out the truth behind his gigai and he wasn't going to worry about it until then.

"Yeah, well it is better then being executed," countered Yoruichi.

"Maybe, but I was hoping for something more along the terms of exile. I am sure if I tried I could convince them to merely banish me and avoid execution," smiled Kisuke with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Meh, getting away from this place wouldn't be so bad as it is becoming boring as hell. I bet there are a ton of things I could do in the Human world," laughed Yoruichi.

"Oh? What about that cute little Fuku-taicho of yours?" asked Kisuke with a raised eyebrow.

"She'll never grow strong if she continues to stay in my shadow and follow my every action. It'll best for her when I leave because she will finally be able to grow on her own," replied Yoruichi.

"Hmm, well in that case, we best enjoy the time we have left here while we can," smiled Kisuke as he pulled out another bottle of sake much to Yoruichi's amusement.

* * *

**Human World**

"Damn it, is he still pursuing me?" growled Hiyori as she leapt from building to building with incredible ease. She was a tiny girl with blond hair that were tied in pigtails and wore a red jogging suit that was decorated with the kanji of her first name.

Not too long ago she was the fuku-taicho of the 12th division, but ever since Urahara had become captain, she hadn't much to do with the division. She held a great deal respect for the last captain and thus refused to accept Urahara as her superior. It wasn't until recently that she decided to leave Soul Society when she started to exhibit some hollow like symptoms and knew what would happened if that was to get leaked to Yamamoto-taicho. Therefore, she had decided to run away when given the opportunity.

What she didn't expect was to be followed by the third seat of her division who had somehow found out about her new behavior. She normally would have taken great pleasure in fighting him, but with no control over her new power, knew she would be easily overpowered. Of course, she would never admit to it being the fact that the third seat who was following her really creeped her out and could probably easily take her out even if she wasn't bothered by her new powers. Nope, she would never admit to that. Too bad, she didn't get to think further on the matter a dark portal opened up in front of her and out walked the man who had been following her for the past ten minutes.

"Bastard, don't you got anything better to do then follow me?" growled Hiyori as she gripped the handle of her sword. She hid her fear well as she was really wondering how he was able to create a portal that quickly and get in front of her. From the power coming off the portal she could easily tell it wasn't the same that all shinigami used to open with their zanpakuto. No, it was something completely different and that worried her because she wondered what else he could.

"Hmm, your power is different then before Hiyori-fuku-taicho," said Naruto as he stood in front of the older girl, though she looked to be much younger then him.

"Cut that fuku-taicho crap as I have cut my ties with Soul Society," demanded Hiyori as she drew her zanpakuto.

"If that is what you wish, but I can not let you escape. I have many questions about your newfound powers and I will get the answers to them even if I have to kill you," replied Naruto as his zanpakuto disappeared and he formed to red beams in each hand to show he had released his shikai.

"Hmph, as if I will let some third seat punk take me out," scowled Hiyori, but before she could release her own zanpakuto she felt a shift in the air behind her and screamed in pain as a blade cut through her back. She managed to move enough away to avoid it going too deep, but was still bleeding profusely as she turned to glare at Naruto.

"My skills are far greater then yours. Surrender," stated Naruto calmly while he discreetly started to gather his spiritual power unnoticed by his former lieutenant.

"We will see who is stronger you bastard," yelled Hiyori in anger as she released her zanpakuto, but her eyes widened in horror as four black walls surrounded her.

"Destructive Art #90: Black Coffin," said Naruto before a loud screamed erupted from inside. It was a kido spell that had been taught to him by Aizen-taicho and its power was incredible, but Naruto hadn't used it at full power, which could be seen as the wall disappeared and Hiyori stood there with a glazed look in her eyes. A second later, numerous cuts appeared all over her body and blood spewed everywhere as she fell face first to the ground lifelessly. She wasn't dead, but she wouldn't be moving for quite some time.

"Hn, I expected more," mumbled Naruto as he walked towards his fallen lieutenant, but stopped when a man with short blond hair appeared in front of him.

"Sorry, but she is coming with me," said the man as he gazed into Naruto's eyes without flinching.

'His power, it is similar to Hiyori's, but more potent and refined,' thought Naruto as his eyes narrowed. He was about to capture this new threat as well, but felt several more people heading towards this area that all carried similar signatures to this man's own. This caused him to dispel his shikai and take a step backwards as he knew he couldn't take them all on, not yet at least.

"I have a feeling we will meet again," smiled the man before picking up Hiyori and using shunpo to disappear.

Naruto waited until he couldn't sense any more signatures before reaching into his uniform and tossing a few pills on the ground. The pills exploded causing hundreds of tiny bugs appear and they then started to ingest all the blood that was spilt on the roof of the building. These bugs were specially designed to ingest chemicals along with other liquid materials and keep them perfectly preserved until Naruto was ready to extract them. He may not have captured the girl, but he could still learn many things from her blood and perhaps design a way to alert him when others like her appeared in certain areas.

'Perhaps Aizen-taicho knows something about this beings,' thought Naruto before raising his hand and a portal of darkness appeared, which closed behind him as he headed back to Soul Society.


	4. Captain of the Twelfth Division

**Gotei 13: General Yamamoto's Chambers**

"Yamamoto-sensei, why have you called us here?" asked Ukitake curiously.

"I have called you all here because two of our captains have decided to disband from Soul Society and we now have two divisions without captains," answered Yamamoto with a slight frown on his face.

"Which two captains have left our ranks?" asked Aizen though he already knew the answer. Right now, the chamber was filled with the captains from the 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 13th divisions. The other captains that weren't present were too busy or out in the human world so they couldn't make it to the meeting.

"Urahara Kisuke of the Twelfth Division and Shihoin Yoruichi of the Second Division," said Yamamoto.

"Yoruichi-chan has left?" repeated Kyoraku clearly upset because he enjoyed ogling at her. Yamamoto and Ukitake both knew why Kyoraku was upset at hearing Yoruichi left and frowned at him.

"Those traitors should be dealt with immediately," demanded Komamura. Yamamoto raised his hand to calm down the captain wearing a helmet over his head.

"No, the Council 46 has decided that since both made numerous contributions to Soul Society while they were captains that they will merely be banished, but should they interfere on Shinigami business or use their abilities then they will be captured and executed," said Yamamoto.

"Is it truly wise to let Urahara-san live? He was the captain of the Twelfth division and knows many of Soul Society's secrets," said Aizen as he offered his own opinion.

"The matter has already been resolved so we speak no more of it. What we will speak of now is who is a viable replacement for them as we can not leave those two divisions without a captain," said Yamamoto with a hard look to get his point across.

"I say make that kid, Uzumaki or whatever, as the new captain of the Twelfth division. He has the brains to take it over and his skills are just as impressive," shrugged Kyoraku.

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri might be better as he has been part of the division longer and he fits the requirement as he has reached Bankai," pointed out Ukitake before he started to cough.

"I have to agree with Kyoraku-san, Uzumaki-san has made some major contributions to Soul Society during his time within his division. His soldier pills alone have not only increased the efficiency of dealing with Hollows, but also decrease the amount of deaths out in the field," smiled Aizen. He could really care less about the two facts that he pointed out, but knew it would help Naruto get the title of captain. With the title of Captain, Naruto could start performing his illegal experiments without having to worry about getting in trouble as he could make Council 46 agree to let him do them.

"Uzumaki-san would make an ideal captain of the Twelfth division," agreed Unohana.

"Hmm, though I have no doubt Uzumaki would make an excellent captain. Kurotsuchi does fulfill the requirements and as such he will be given the title of captain once I see that he has attained Bankai," said Yamamoto. Aizen frowned inwardly at that, but didn't worry to much because he knew that Naruto would never take orders from that man and would challenge him for the title.

"Now that the Twelfth division captaincy has been dealt with, we must discuss who should become the new captain of the Second division," sighed Yamamoto as he was growing tired of this already, but knew it had to be done.

* * *

**Break**

"So, Mayuri will be taking over as captain of the Twelfth division?" frowned Naruto as he sat down in front of Aizen and drank some tea.

"Yes, unless you are willing to show them your Bankai then he will be inducted as the Twelfth division captain," said Aizen with a small smile, as he knew Naruto had obtained his Bankai long ago, but never felt the need to show it to anyone.

"Hn, showing them my Bankai would merely allow others to analyze it and prepare against it. One should never show their true power until they have to," replied Naruto.

"Well then, it looks like you will have to challenge Mayuri to a fight after he receives the title of captain," smiled Aizen.

"Defeating him will not be a problem," said Naruto simply.

"Of course, he is weak and no match for your power," agreed Aizen as he finished his tea.

"Do you have any further information regarding these Vizards? I have yet to produce any significant results from the blood samples I obtained," asked Naruto, as he changed the subject.

"Not yet, but I am trying to contact my former taicho to see if he will meet with me. As of now I am busy with trying to find Urahara as he has disappeared completely from my sources," frowned Aizen.

"I see," said Naruto with a bit of disappointment.

"Do not worry, I will have the information you need on these Vizards in time, but finding Urahara is more important as of now. Tell me though, have you had any success duplicating the Orb of Distortion?" said Aizen with a greedy look in his eyes.

"No, he destroyed all his notes on it and without a sample of it I will not be able to replicate it or its effects. I might be able to start developing a prototype, but I will need some more knowledge on Arrancars and Vizards to do so," explained Naruto.

"I understand, I will get you that information immediately then while also keeping an eye out for Urahara-san," said Aizen with a small nod of his head.

* * *

**First Division Quarters**

Yamamoto, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Aizen along with over 200 shinigami were gathered to watch the fight between Uzumaki Naruto and Kurotsuchi Mayuri. It was ironic that Mayuri had finally received the title he craved for so long and in less than an hour, someone he loathed for the position had officially challenged him.

Many were surprised by the action that Uzumaki took because it was a well known fact that he didn't really like being involved in such actions. He was one of those shinigami that preferred to stay in the shadows and be left alone. The young third seat shinigami never really demonstrated any fighting abilities since he had joined the Twelfth division even though he was the top student in the academy. That is why many people had shown up to watch the fight because they wanted to see if the prodigy from the academy was just a fluke or truly possessed the skill that many instructors were still bragging about even today, fifty years after he had graduated.

"I always knew you were jealous of me, and I will take great joy in killing you," glared Mayuri. Naruto stared at the man who wore too much make-up with an impassive look on his face. He knew he could easily beat this man if he went all out, but that would draw too much suspicion onto him on how he had grown so strong when he never demonstrated such skill before. Low to mid-level Kido and the basic abilities of his shikai would be what he would use to be this fool who thought himself better then everyone else.

"Kurotsuchi, Uzumaki, this will be a one-on-one fight where anything goes. The fight is not over until one of you is incapacitated or dead," said Yamamoto as he explained the rules. Naruto and Mayuri both nodded their heads to show they understood as their eyes never left each other.

"You may begin," announced Yamamoto as he banged his staff on the ground. Mayuri grinned as he quickly drew his zanpakuto then unleash his shikai, as he knew he couldn't afford to hold back against Naruto. He may loathe the young shinigami with all of his being, but he was not going to let that cloud his mind as faced the brat.

"Scratch out, _Ashisogi Jizō_," grinned Mayuri as he released his zanpakuto. His zanpakuto's blade disappeared and its in place formed a deformed looking trident with serpentine blades and a guard that looked to be in the design of a baby's face.

"Eternal Darkness, Xemnas," said Naruto impassively as his zanpakuto disappeared and two red beams formed in his hands.

"Such an interesting shikai, it seems like the type of thing that a Quincy would have seeing is how your beams are made out of pure spiritual energy. The only difference is that instead of using the spiritual energy in the air to create those beams, it is drawn straight from the being that makes up your zanpakuto," taunted Mayuri as he tried to get a rise out of Naruto.

"How pathetic, I expected more from you, but it seems you know nothing at all," replied Naruto with a disappointed look in his eyes. Mayuri's eyes narrowed in anger and decided to shut the brat up once and for all before disappearing via the use of shunpo.

Naruto calmly raised the beam in his left hand and blocked the blow that came at him from that side. He then tilted his head and looked at Mayuri with a bored look in his eyes as he easily held the man off with one arm.

"I may prefer to study and learn as much as I can, but there is a part of me that enjoys a good fight. I hope you will supply me with one before this is over," said Naruto before disappearing and reappearing behind Mayuri.

"You dare mock me," growled Mayuri as he used shunpo to avoid being cut in half.

"It was merely a request," said Naruto impassively. Mayuri's glare intensified before he reached up and pulled out the mechanical ear on his forehead. It turned into a small handheld scythe that he spun around a few times before throwing at Naruto. Naruto just deflected it back at Mayuri before launching a kido spell.

"Destructive Art#54: Abolishing Flames," said Naruto before launching a large purple blast of spiritual energy at Mayuri.

Mayuri easily dodged it with shunpo, but the moment he reappeared he screamed in pain when he felt something cut off his left arm before he was able to use shunpo to escape again. He glared at Naruto as the stump of his arm started to bleed profusely. Naruto just looked at him impassively, but was severely disappointed by the lack of skill Mayuri possessed.

'That bastard, he used the kido as a diversion then snuck up behind me,' thought Mayuri angrily before reaching into his uniform and pulling out a syringe.

"It seems I underestimated your skill, but it will not happen again," grinned Mayuri as he plunged the syringe into his arm and his left arm regrew to the shock of all the shinigami watching the fighting except the captains.

"Surrender and I will spare your life. You do not possess the skill to match me," said Naruto.

"Fool, I will show you why I was given the rank of captain and it just wasn't because that idiot Urahara ran away," sneered Mayuri before his body started to glow purple as he released his spiritual energy.

* * *

**Captain's Box**

"It seems Mayuri is releasing his Bankai. I believe that Naruto will no longer have the upper hand now," said Aizen with a fake smile.

"I don't know, that kid seems to be a much better fighter then Kurotsuchi. I got my money on him beating that weirdo even though he after he releases his Bankai," replied Kyoraku before taking a sip of his sake bottle.

"Kurotsuchi may not be much of a fighter, but his power dwarfs Uzumaki's and I believe he will be the victor of this fight," coughed Ukitake.

"Hmm," was all Yamamoto said as he watched the fight with a bit of interest.

* * *

**Mayuri vs. Naruto**

"Bankai," laughed Mayuri as he released the second stage of his zanpakuto. Naruto watched with impassive eyes as his zanpakuto transform from a deformed looking trident to some type of overgrown mutated caterpillar that easily stood as tall as a two-story house. The caterpillar possessed a red cape, a baby's head, and a silver halo over it while out of its mouth came a cloud of poisonous gas.

"How do you like it? Now you will feel the power of _Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō_," grinned Mayuri. A powerful kido barrier sprung up around the spectators to protect them from the poisonous gases that came out of Mayuri's Bankai.

"Cover this place in your poisonous gases," laughed Mayuri. His Bankai just roared before releasing a huge breath that covered the whole area in its gases.

"You should have never challenged me you arrogant brat. I am the only one immune to its poison and soon your body will start to deteriorate on you," smiled Mayuri with an insane glint in his eyes.

There was no response and Mayuri was about to dispel his Bankai, as he believed Naruto to be dead, but his eyes widened in horror when a huge black hole appeared in the sky and the poisonous gases started to get sucked away.

"Destructive Art#88: Black Hole that Swallows All," said Naruto as the gases were sucked away to reveal him standing in the same spot. Mayuri just watched in disbelief as all traces of his poisonous gas disappeared and the fighting area was once again visible to all.

"Impossible," spluttered Mayuri with wide eyes.

"Your Bankai is impressive and against any other opponent it would have no doubt killed them, but you underestimated the power of my shikai," said Naruto.

"What are you talking about?" growled Mayuri as he hoped to stall for some time to come up with a new strategy.

"You thought my shikai was formed from the spiritual power that resides within, the opposite of how a Quincy would fight. Though it was a good attempt to analyze my shikai, in the end, it was ultimately incorrect. My shikai has the abilities to form matter out of nothingness, which is how I am able to create these beams," explained Naruto, as Mayuri's eyes widened in horror, as he understood what that meant.

"That would mean, you could create any type of matter with or without the proper chemical substances," stuttered Mayuri as he looked up at the black hole that was still located above them in case he were to release more poisonous gases.

"I am not able to create anything, but I am able to create things that are immensely helpful in battle. Most of them focus on refining or developing my own kido spells like the one I just used. This fight is over, so long as that black hole remains above us, your poisonous gases are useless," stated Naruto.

"No, I refuse to lose to someone like you," yelled Mayuri before ordering his Bankai to destroy Naruto. The large caterpillar charged at Naruto at impressive speeds for something of its size, but compared to the speed of a shinigami who had mastered shunpo to the level Naruto had it was as slow as a snail.

Mayuri eyes went from victorious to horror as his Bankai exploded in a shower of blood as Naruto cut it in half starting from its mouth all the way down. He was in so much shock he didn't realize Naruto behind him until it was too late and his beam was sticking out of the middle of his chest.

"Farewell," said Naruto before using his other beam to behead the crazed scientist. He looked down at the now dead shinigami with a satisfied look in his eyes.

It wasn't until he had killed the man that he realized how much he detested the older shinigami. Unohana was one of the few people Naruto held great respect towards and Mayuri was her complete opposite. He was one of the many corrupt shinigami that the Council 46 and captains allowed to exist without so much as a reprimand for his many indiscretions.

'Perhaps that is why I truly agreed to join Aizen-san,' thought Naruto as he dispelled his shikai. He had never thought that he might have joined the man because he believed that Soul Society deserved to be destroyed due to the corruptness that when on, but it made some sense. Then again, the idea of being able to study and experiment without restriction because Aizen would use his zanpakuto to influence the council was a major factor as well. He would have to think more on the matter as he didn't like to be internally conflicted when it came to making a decision.

"Uzumaki-san, congratulations on your victory over Kurotsuchi-taicho," said Yamamoto.

"Thank you Yamamoto-taicho," bowed Naruto gratefully.

"From this point on you shall be the captain of the Twelfth division and I look forward to working with you," finished Yamamoto with a small nod of his head. The other captains nodded at Naruto as well and welcomed him to their ranks.

* * *

**Twelfth Division: Mayuri's Lab**

Naruto was now wearing the tradition captain robes as he walked around Mayuri's lab. He was here because even though he disliked the man, he couldn't deny the fact that he was a genius in his own right. That being said, there was bound to be a few things around here that might catch his interest and even help with his own experiments.

As he was walking around, he felt an abnormally high amount of spiritual power that could rival that of a lieutenant, somewhere in the lab. He traced the spiritual power to a hidden room in the back of the lab where there several tube like structures that could easily fit a shinigami in it. His eyes narrowed as he came upon the last tube and a woman who looked to be in her early twenties floated in the tube wearing absolutely nothing. There was a clipboard on the panel in front of the panel, which Naruto picked up and started to read it.

"Nemu," read Naruto. He figured that was the name Mayuri gave the woman as he continued to read more about her.

This Nemu, was apparently, created from Mayuri's research on gigai and artificially created souls. Her body was designed to survive even the most potent poisons and was equipped with several poisons internally to killed anyone or thing that would attack her from within. She was also able to survive fatal wounds that were inflicted on her according to the report, and didn't doubt that Mayuri had tested that theory thoroughly.

"Hmm, should she agree, I will make her my lieutenant," said Naruto as he went to release her from her containment. Mayuri may have thought of her nothing more then a subject, but Naruto wouldn't treat anyone like that as he had more respect for life then that man.

* * *

**Break**

Unohana was sitting at her table sipping on her herbal tea with a contemplative look in her eyes. The past fifty years had brought much change in her life as a shinigami. She had never let her personal feelings get in the way of her duty, but as of lately, she had been having trouble focusing. There was just a certain someone who always seemed plague her mind.

His name was Uzumaki Naruto, the new captain of the Twelfth Division, if what she had heard was right. He was the young man that kept entering her mind and making her lose focus. They started as just friends, but now she was hoping something more developed between them, but that seemed doubtful. The only way something would happen between them is if she made the first move and she couldn't because her duty came first.

"Taicho, Uzumaki-taicho is here to see you," said Isane as she entered the room and interrupted her captain's thoughts.

"Oh? Please send him in," said Unohana with a bit of surprise. Naruto had never been the one to seek her out, which is why she was caught off guard by his sudden visit. Isane just blushed slightly as Naruto thanked her before he entered the room and Isane took her leave.

Unohana couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face because she had to admit that Naruto seemed to fit into his new role of captain perfectly. The power and authority that rolled off him was intoxicating, so much more then it had been when he was just a seated officer.

"Congratulations on receiving the rank of captain Naruto-kun," smiled Unohana as he took a seat across from her. She then poured him a cup of tea, which he thanked her for as he took a sip.

"Thank you," nodded Naruto gratefully for the comment and the tea.

"I am surprised to see you here as you have never come to visit me in the past," teased Unohana.

"I was merely an academy student or a seated officer before, so it would have been improper to request a meeting with a captain like you on a monthly basis. Now that I am a captain, taking time to see you will be well within my rights," explained Naruto.

"Oh, does this mean you will come to visit me from now on?" asked Unohana with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"When I have the time and if you don't mind, I would like to visit you and talk with you like we usually do," said Naruto with a nod of his head. Unohana gave Naruto a brilliant smile at hearing him say that because now she knew that he had at least some feelings towards her even if he didn't realize it.

"I would like that very much Naruto-kun," replied Unohana with a beautiful smile. The two then started to chat as they always did and enjoyed each other's company.


	5. Soul Society Arc Begins

"Naruto-sama, I have the reports that you wanted," said Nemu as she handed him a few documents.

"Thank you," said Naruto before taking the documents and looking through them.

Nemu had been his lieutenant for the past century since he had released her from the containment tube she was in and she is very efficient at her job. Naruto doubted Mayuri knew how helpful she really was as he probably ignored any of her input, but Naruto on the other hand encourage her input. The woman was very insightful when it came to giving him constructive criticism on his projects and even helped him see things from a different perspective. Of course, it took him awhile to get her to give her opinion as she had been _taught_ by Mayuri to merely be silent while he worked.

The only problem he saw with Nemu was that she seemed to be very protective of him. It was a trait that had developed about six years after he made her his lieutenant and she started to learn that he would not punish her if she spoke her mind along with finally forgiving him for killing her _father_. Due to this protectiveness, she seemed to have developed an instant dislike for Unohana whom he was close to. She didn't show her dislike openly, but Naruto could tell by the slight narrowing of her eyes whenever he went out to visit Unohana, or Unohana came to see him, that she didn't much care for the older woman. This didn't bother him as long as Nemu was smart enough not to attack Unohana because if she did then he would probably kill her.

"Yamamoto-taicho has sent you this," said Nemu before pulling out a small note for him to read. Naruto put the documents he was looking over down on the nearest table, before accepting the note and reading it.

"Hmm, it seems there is going to be a meeting about the missing shinigami from the thirteenth division," frowned Naruto, as this was a waste of his time. He believed her name was Rukia and Byakuya had adopted her into the Kuchiki family about a hundred years ago.

"Would you like me to send a hell butterfly saying that you are busy?" asked Nemu. She knew how her taicho hated going to those meetings because he found them pointless.

"No, it wouldn't look good if I missed a meeting concerning a member from one of the four noble families," said Naruto with a shake of his head. He tossed the note into the air and used a weak kido spell to burn it.

"Nemu-san, please go check to see whether or not this Kuchiki's zanpakuto is still active or not. I have a feeling that she isn't quite as dead as they are saying," said Naruto. The twelfth division was not only responsible for the technology of Soul Society, but regulating the use of limiters and portals that shinigami used.

"Hai Naruto-sama," bowed Nemu before disappearing with a small displacement of wind.

'It seems Aizen-san will finally get the Orb of Distortion if Urahara-sempai was as foolish as I believe,' thought Naruto with a contemplative look in his eyes.

**Karakura Town**

"Why are you still following me around?" grumbled Ichigo as he glared at the short girl wearing a plain school uniform. Ichigo was a local high school student that was able to see ghosts and shinigami, but due to a recent attack on his family, he had ended up taking the powers of a shinigami from the girl right next to him.

Her name was Rukia Kuchiki, and ever since Ichigo had ended up taking all of her powers, she had been living with him and making sure he did his job as a shinigami in her place. The two seemed to have a very violent relationship as Rukia was always beating up on Ichigo for being lazy or just plain stupid in her opinion. Ichigo couldn't stand the girl because she was always dragging him around to save some soul or beat a hollow and it pissed him off.

"I am here to make sure you continue to do your job so stop your damn complaining," glared Rukia.

"Hn, whatever, but that doesn't explain why you have been living in my closest," glared Ichigo right back at the hundred year old girl.

"It is the only way I can make sure to get you on time when a hollow strikes," retorted Rukia with a tick on her forehead.

"Yeah right, you're just one weird ass girl," replied Ichigo with a smirk, before grumbling in anger when Rukia hit him over the head. He didn't get to say anything when a familiar beeping sound went off and Rukia pulled out her hollow detector.

"Come on, it is time to get to work," said Rukia as she put on her glove and slammed her hand into Ichigo's head.

"I hate when you do that," grumbled Ichigo as he was now wearing a standard shinigami uniform and his body was now lying unconscious on the ground.

"Let's go," said Rukia as she hid his body before leading to where the Hollow was located.

**Fifth Division**

Naruto was calmly sipping on some tea and he sat down before Aizen and Gin. They were speaking of the new development that has occurred with the missing Kuchiki girl.

"What have you found out so far?" asked Gin with his snake-like grin that was always present on his face.

Naruto had never liked the Third Division captain because he seemed to take joy in doing such pointless acts that served no point to but to annoy him. Gin also liked to joke about Naruto's compassion for the Fourth division captain. If it weren't for Aizen, Naruto would have succeeded in killing Gin about twenty years ago when he caught the man bothering Unohana. The fool learned the hard way that just because Naruto was the youngest captain in Soul Society, being 160 years of age, didn't mean he was the weakest.

"I have located the girl and she is currently in a town called Karakura Town. She possesses the Orb of Distortion as her spiritual powers have not returned to her since she gave him to that boy," said Naruto calmly.

"Hmm, I sense there is something more," said Aizen with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Yes, this town seems to a spiritual epicenter as there are several humans with some latent power and the boy who took the Kuchiki's girl powers has an abnormal amount of spiritual power. It is my theory that these humans will start to exhibit special abilities from being exposed to the boy's new shinigami powers," explained Naruto.

"Meh, a bunch of humans is no reason for concern," smiled Gin.

"I have to agree with Gin-san, these humans are no cause of concern. I will allow the Kuchiki girl to stay in this town for a bit longer before I _influence_ the Council 46 to order for her immediate retrieval," smiled Aizen.

'Fools, underestimating power in any form is what will you get killed,' thought Naruto as he kept a neutral expression on his face.

**Break**

"Ken-chan, do you know where you are going?" asked Yachiru with a cute smile. The Eleventh division captain looked over at the little girl on his shoulder with a bored expression before replying to her question.

"Not a clue," replied Kenpachi, causing Yachiru to giggle. She was about to say something more when she felt a familiar spiritual power and looked up to see the captain of the 12th division walking towards them with his lieutenant behind him.

"Fishcake-kun," yelled Yachiru cheerfully as she waved over at the 12th division captain.

"Yachiru-san, Zaraki-san," greeted Naruto with a nod of his head. Kenpachi grinned at the 12th division captain with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the science brat, you finally ready to fight with me?" grinned Kenpachi as he raised his sword on his shoulders. Naruto looked at the man impassively because he had been trying to get him to fight him for years, even going so far as to openly attack him at any chance he got.

"I have told you before I do not fight for the simple thrill of fighting," said Naruto as he signaled for Nemu to get away from the area. Nemu bowed slightly before using shunpo and appeared on top of one of the many buildings about thirty feet away.

"What better reason is there to fight?" laughed Kenpachi before slamming his sword down at Naruto. When the large dust cloud disappeared, Naruto was nowhere in sight, and Kenpachi just grinned as he glanced over to the right to see his opponent standing on the wall calmly.

"Ha-ha, you have gotten even faster then the last time we met," grinned Kenpachi as he turned to face Naruto.

"No, I merely heard your bells and was easily able to anticipate your moves," stated Naruto simply before disappearing again as Kenpachi appeared behind him and destroyed the wall when he missed cutting Naruto in half.

"Still using that same lame excuse?" laughed Kenpachi.

"It is not an excuse, but merely a fact. My hearing is far better then any other shinigami and no matter how fast you are, I am able to hear the slight movement of those bells," replied Naruto as he stood on top of a building across from Kenpachi. Naruto wasn't lying because his sense of hearing, touch, and smell had been amplified due to some experiments he performed on himself to improve his senses while working on a few experiments. He didn't bother to worry about increasing his sight because he was trying to learn to fight without relying on his vision especially when he learned of what Aizen's zanpakuto could do. They made be allies now, but that could change in the future and Naruto wanted to be prepared.

"If it is so easy to predict my movements then why don't you stay and fight me? I am sure it would be so _easy_ for you to beat me with such advanced hearing," taunted Kenpachi as he pointed his sword at Naruto.

"Yeah, fight Kenny-chan," yelled Yachiru as she cheered them on with a cute smile.

"I am sure we will find ourselves engaged in combat soon enough, but not today. Have a good day Yachiru-san, Zaraki-san," nodded Naruto before disappearing via shunpo.

"Ha-ha, you better put up one hell of a fight for making me wait," grinned Kenpachi as he watched Naruto disappear and knew that he was long gone. Yachiru appeared on his shoulder with a cute pout on her face.

"I'm sorry Ken-chan, I thought Fishcake-chan would finally let you have some fun," pouted Yachiru. Kenpachi didn't say anything before continuing in the direction he was headed in before he ran into Naruto.

**Gotei 13 Meeting**

"I have just received a message from Council 46 and they have ordered that the Kuchiki Rukia be brought in to answer for her crime of giving her powers to a human," said Yamamoto as he spoke to the captains gathered in front of him.

"What about the human she gave her powers to?" asked Naruto.

"Whoever goes to pick up Kuchiki Rukia will tell the boy that he is not to use his shinigami powers again or we will remove them from him permanently," answered Yamamoto. All the captains knew that the only way to remove a shinigami's powers was to kill him, and Naruto knew the compassionate boy would be killed before even given the chance to truly live life.

'Our job is not to interfere in the affairs of those of the living yet we kill a boy for protecting his family through use of gaining shinigami powers,' thought Naruto as he tuned out the rest of the conversation. He was about to refocus on what was going on when he started to have a memory from his past life.

_Memory_

"_Ni-san, I am scared," shivered a little girl with long red hair and beautiful sky blue eyes that matched Naruto's own pair. She looked to be no older then three or four and it was easily to tell she was frightened._

"_Leave us alone," growled Naruto as he stood front of the girl protectively as a bunch of villagers that were glaring at them both with hate-filled eyes surrounded them._

"_Is time to die you little demons, we will finish what the Fourth Hokage started," yelled the ringleader._

_Naruto watched as the villagers grew closer and the girl behind started to cry loudly. He clenched his hands angrily as he refused to allow these villagers harm one of the two people he loved._

'_They hate us, so I will show them how much I hate them,'__ thought Naruto as his eyes turned black and his body started to glow with green and black power. The villagers stopped their forward movement as they saw what was happening to the boy, but before they could run in fear, power exploded off the boy and destroyed everything within a twenty foot radius. The only thing that was unharmed was the small girl whole kept screaming for her Ni-san even as her mother showed up and tried to comfort her._

_End of Memory_

Naruto placed a hand on his head before removing it slowly. He didn't know what happened, but something told him that it was related to his past. Before he could go over what happened, the memory started to fade from his mind, and soon he couldn't recall what it is he just saw. This caused him to frown slight, but soon dismissed it as unimportant and paid attention to the rest of the meeting.


	6. Power of the Quincy

"Do you truly believe these humans are really a matter of concern Naruto-sama?" asked Tousen as he sat down across from Naruto and drank some tea.

"It is too early to tell, but to completely disregard their growing powers would be foolish," replied Naruto as he took a sip of his own tea. Tousen just nodded his head in understand because it was better to prepare for every possible outcome then be unprepared for it later.

"I here they captured the Kuchiki girl and she is scheduled for execution. I take Aizen-san is responsible for that," said Tousen.

"Hai, and soon the Orb of Distortion will be in our possession," said Naruto with a slight frown on his face. Tousen could feel something was off with Naruto and decided to question him about because it was unlike him to allow himself to be bothered by anything unless it was something important.

"Something is bothering you," stated Tousen knowingly.

"Hmm, I have this feeling that not everything will go as easily as we want. Aizen-san is a master at manipulating people to believe what he wants them to believe, but he has not accounted for every variable. He overestimates his power and underestimates the powers of others, which could be the downfall of us all," explained Naruto.

"What Captains are you worried about besides Yamamoto-san?" asked Tousen curiously.

"Unohana-san, and Ukitake-san," answered Naruto to the surprise of Tousen.

"Unohana-san?" repeated Tousen surprised.

"Yes, though she doesn't seem like it, she is one of the original thirteen captains and her power with Kido should not be underestimated. If anyone has the power to break through Aizen's manipulations and his zanpakuto then it is her," confessed Naruto. He didnt want to fight Unohana, but if she interfered he would have no choice in order to protect her from getting killed by Aizen.

"Why Ukitake-san then?" said Tousen as he agreed with Naruto's statement about Unohana. There were very few people that Tousen respected in Soul Society and Naruto and Unohana were both at the top of the list as they both merely wanted for a peaceful Soul Society. He originally followed Aizen when the man had approached him, but after meeting Naruto that had changed and he had sworn his loyalty to the young twelfth division captain. Of course, this didn't sit very well with Aizen, but so long as Tousen helped with their goals he did not let it bother him too much.

"Though Ukitake-san suffers from an extreme illness, he was Yamamoto's prize student and unlike his counterpart, Kyoraku-san, he is very active in the business of Soul Society. He will no doubt try to learn as much as he can about what is going on now especially with the Kuchiki girl being from his division," said Naruto as he finished his tea and poured himself another cup before pouring Tousen another cup as well.

"Ukitake-san may be powerful, but his illness prevents him from fighting in prolonged battles. He also doesn't upset the peace that goes on, but if it comes to it then I will deal with him personally to ensure our goals," stated Tousen.

"Be wary of Kyoraku-san should you be forced to engage Ukitake-san. He always seems to be nearby when it comes to Ukitake-san and fighting both of them at the same time is unwise," said Naruto seriously. Naruto was no fool and knew that though he was powerful having trained under Aizen-san there were still a few captains out there that had greater spiritual power then him. This is why he learned as much as he could about all of their abilities and personality so if he ever had to face them he could exploit them in battle to overpower them. Not every fight is won with pure strength and sometimes it is won by who had the better strategy.

He had also drilled this into Tousen's head as well because when they first met Tousen was very assured of his own skills and Naruto easily exploited a weakness in his Bankai much to his shock. Tousen took the lesson to heart, as he didn't want to lose his chance to restore the peace by dying too soon.

**Fourth Division**

"I really wonder where he comes up with these inventions," smiled Unohana as she examined the newest invention currently being mass-produced by the Twelfth Division.

It was called a blood pill and what it did was increase the rate of which the body produced blood. The pill was a lifesaver because it helped wounded shinigami stay alive longer from their injuries, as the pill would restore any loss of blood until they made it back to Soul Society. Unohana could only smile wistfully as she had only mention it in passing that many shinigami died of blood loss before the Fourth Division could get to them and four months later Naruto had developed a prototype blood pill.

"I take it you are pleased with the product then?" said a familiar voice that caused Unohana to turn around with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Of course I am Naruto-kun," smiled Unohana as she gestured for him to have a seat.

"I heard your division was holding the captive Kuchiki girl and thought I would pay a visit to see her myself," said Naruto as he kneeled down on the ground.

"Yes, we were holding her, but I am afraid that she was transferred to the Tower of Solitude. If you wish to speak with her about the humans she was with you will have to visit her there," said Unohana with a knowing look in her eyes.

"You know me well," stated Naruto.

"Mhm, I would like to think so," teased Unohana with a playful look in her beautiful eyes.

"I wish to speak with you as well because I believe I have been having flashes of memories from when I was alive. I can never remember them though as they disappear after a few seconds after I receive them," frowned Naruto.

"Hmm, it is not unheard of for one to remember certain events from one's life, but it is curious you are having such memories," said Unohana with a slight frown of her own.

"Why is that?" asked Naruto.

"I examined you when you were first brought to Soul Society and though many don't know it, I can tell what age a person died at if they haven't spent too much time in Rukongai or Soul Society. Naruto-kun, you died when you were about five or six," said Unohana softly with a sad look in her eyes.

"I see, then why would I be able to have such vivid memories as I shouldn't remember too many things if I died around that age," said Naruto with a contemplative look in his eyes.

'It is just like you Naruto to not even care that you died before you could truly ever live,' thought Unohana with a mental sigh.

"Thank you for letting me know this," started Naruto, but stopped when an alarm went off. His eyes narrowed as an alert then unknown intruders had entered Soul Society and he recognized their spiritual powers. They were the humans that had been with the girl in the living world.

"Who would be foolish enough to invade Soul Society with such a small party of people?" frowned Unohana, but received no reply and was surprised to see Naruto already heading out of the room.

"I will go help deal with these intruders, we will finish our conversation later Unohana-san," bowed Naruto before disappearing via shunpo.

'I would tell you to be careful, but knowing you, I have a feeling you are well prepared,' thought Unohana with a small smile before getting up to find her vice-captain.

**Break**

"Hmm, it seems we got split up from the rest of our group," said Ishida before fixing his glasses.

"I hope Kurosaki-san is ok," worried Orohime as she ran next to Uryuu.

"Knowing him he is probably getting in a fight as we speak," replied Ishida. He had only came around this trip to have his chance to fight some shinigami and pay them back for not protecting his grandfather when he was attacked by Hollows. The memory was crystal clear, as a couple shinigami didn't bother to get rid of the Hollows until his grandfather had already died.

"I can't believe Kurosaki-san wears these all the time. I mean they are so uncomfortable, but at least they are cool looking," smiled Orohime as she fingered the shinigami robes they had stole. Ishida sweat dropped at that because the girl always worried about the most insignificant of things. He was about to say something to her, but they both fell to their knees as a powerful spiritual power overwhelmed them.

"No way, what could possess such spiritual power?" gasped Ishida as he struggled to rise to his feet. He looked to the side and noticed that Orohime was worse off then he was and knew he had to get her out of here before she passed out. Right as he was about to get up the spiritual power disappeared and an unfamiliar voice reached their ears.

"Ryoka-san, I have come here to apprehend you. Please turn yourselves over," said the voice respectfully. Ishida looked up and saw a man that looked no older then eighteen watching him with an emotionless expression on his face. His robes were different from the average shinigami and standing next to him was a beautiful woman with long braided black hair.

"Who are you?" asked Ishida as he drew his bow and prepared for a fight.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I am the Captain of the Twelfth Division. This is my fuku-taicho, Nemu-san," said the man as introduced himself and his associate.

'A Captain?' thought Ishida before his eyes narrowed and he formed an arrow out of spiritual particles in the air.

"I do not wish to fight you Quincy-san, but should you not turn yourselves over then I will have no choice," said Naruto calmly.

"Orohime, get out of here while I deal with him," said Ishida with a hard look in his eyes. Orohime wanted to say something, but saw the look in her friend's eyes and nodded her head so ran away as fast as she could. Naruto raised his hand and gestured for Nemu to capture the girl while he dealt with the boy.

Ishida turned his bow on Nemu, but before he could fire she disappeared using shunpo much to his shock. He was broke out of his shock by Naruto who drew his zanpakuto and released it from its sealed state.

"Eternal Darkness, Xemnas," said Naruto before his zanpakuto disappeared and a red beam formed in each hand.

'What? That looks like something a Quincy would use,' thought Ishida surprised.

"I will ask you again, please surrender, and no harm shall come to you or your companion," said Naruto.

"Sorry, but I refuse to ever surrender to a shinigami," replied Ishida before firing his arrow at Naruto. Naruto tilted his head to the side as the arrow passed by him, but was surprised when Ishida appeared behind him and fired another arrow at point blank.

"Hn," thought Ishida as he pushed his glasses up.

"Your speed is impressive, but you can not win this fight," said Naruto causing Ishida's eyes to go wide with disbelief. Naruto was standing with his back's to Ishida's and could have easily finished this fight in one move, but wanted to see what else the boy could do.

Ishida disappeared again, but Naruto reappeared in front of him and kicked him into the ground. Naruto was about to land on the ground when three arrows were fired at him from inside the small cloud of dust. He quickly used his beams to deflect the first two and dodged the third one by jumping onto the nearest building.

"Now you are the slow one," said Ishida as he appeared on the side of Naruto and fired another arrow at him. Naruto just turned his head slowly before the arrow crashed into him and large explosion occurred. Ishida gritted his teeth in anger as he saw Naruto stand there with his hand raised because he had just used a Kido spell to destroy his arrow.

"You are far more powerful then any Quincy I have ever met, but you are still no match for a Captain level shinigami," said Naruto before throwing his beam at Ishida at incredible speeds. Ishida gasped in pain as the beam passed right through his stomach and out the other end.

The Quincy fell to his knees before coughing out a large amount of blood. He looked down to see that there was no puncture wound, but his insides were hurting like hell and he was having trouble gathering the spiritual particles in the air.

"As you found out, my shikai can do more then just create to weapons for me, but also disrupt the spiritual powers of anyone it cuts for a short period of time. Of course, by messing up someone's spiritual power, I inflict no physical wound on the body, but merely disrupt the internal organs, which can be quite fatal depending on where I aim," explained Naruto as he looked down at Ishida impassively.

"Damn it, I will not lose," glared Ishida as he forced himself to stand up.

"Give up, Nemu-san has already captured your companion so there is no point for you to continue fighting as you already failed to protect her," said Naruto.

'Orohime, I will save you and beat this shinigami. Forgive me grandfather, but it seems I will have to once again go against your wishes,' thought Ishida as he removed the glove from his right hand.

Naruto eyes narrowed as the boy seemed to transform once the glove was removed and he started to gather spiritual particles in the surrounding area at an incredible rate. This was not good because if the boy kept it up then he might actually be able to harm him. It seems he would have to end this right now before he got any stronger.

"Once again, you have impressed me with your skill and power, but I am afraid this is as far as this fight goes," said Naruto, but before he could make a move Ishida appeared behind him with a cold look in his eyes.

"You are right about this fight being over, but I will be the victor not you," said Ishida before firing an arrow with incredible power at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he had no time to dodge and was consumed by the spiritual arrow.

"Hn," said Ishida as he pushed his glasses up and turned his back to leave so he could find Orohime. He stopped in mid-step though when he felt a surge of spiritual power and turned around in disbelief as he saw the dust clear. There Naruto stood his robes slightly tattered, but otherwise, unharmed. Ishida didn't know how he survived until he saw in front of the man was looked to be a wall of large barely visible blocks.

"I underestimated you, but it will not happen again," said Naruto calmly before disappearing so quick that Ishida couldn't even follow him even in this new transformed state.

"Ahhh!" screamed Ishida as he felt his right arm torn off his body and he fell to his knees with blood spilling everywhere before passing out from the pain.

"It seems that without your bow arm that your power has disappeared completely or maybe it is something else," said Naruto as he held the boy's right arm with the same emotionless expression on his face that he always had. A second later, Nemu appeared next to him carrying an unconscious Orohime over her shoulder.

"Naruto-sama, are you ok?" asked Nemu worried.

"Hai, the boy was far more powerful then I had anticipated. If not for the fact that I can make matter out of nothingness with my shikai then he would have no doubt crippled me for some time because of my carelessness. It is a mistake I shall not make twice should I encounter another Ryoka," answered Naruto. Nemu just nodded her head in understand because she knew how much her taicho hated making careless mistakes especially when in battle.

"Take the girl to the holding cells in the Fourth Division while I take this boy to my lab. I will reattach his arm and then send him over to be with his companion. It is quite possible I can use his power in the future to help accomplish our goals as he seems to hate shinigami," said Naruto as he picked up the Quincy.

"Hai Naruto-sama," bowed Nemu before disappearing to do as she was told.

'If you are this powerful, then how powerful are the others?' wondered Naruto before he too disappeared.


End file.
